An Unlikely Enemy
by sparkycircuit
Summary: Sequel to 'An Unlikely Ally'. What happens when our friends in Oz face a new threat? A threat quite possibly more dangerous then Morrible.
1. Prologue

**So this is the sequel to my first Wicked fanfic, 'An Unlikely Ally'. If you've stumbled upon this, I would recommend going back and reading **** An Unlikely Ally.You can try to read without reading the first, but there are OCs involved, and if you read on, there are spoilers for An Unlikey Ally. Just a forewarning. **

** So, without further ado... _the sequel. _**

**  
**

**An Unlikely Enemy **

**Prologue**

Jin stood before Madame Morrible, his face set, though on the inside he was trembling. He had heard stories of what happened to people who failed in their tasks. They weren't pleasant.

"Well?" the older woman asked impatiently, her pale and severe face seeming to peer into him. Idly, Jin's mind wandered. How did she get that make up when she was in prison? But then, she shouldn't be able to get in contact with anyone from the outside at all, and yet, here he was. Oh, how he wished he was anywhere else at this moment.

"Uhm… Well, Madame…" The lanky brown haired teen stumbled over his words. "I…"

"Out with it!" ordered Morrible, glaring at him from across the table.

"I… I didn't get the wand." Jin finished with an air of finality.

"Insolent fool!" she said, pounding the table with her fist. "How dare you fail me, again! You couldn't get me the information I required before, and now you can't even manage to steal that despicable blonde's wand! I gave you everything you required! How dare you!" for a terrifying moment, Jin thought she was going to slap him. But suddenly, and perhaps more upsettingly, she seemed to calm. Then, a wide smirk passed over her face. "Don't worry; you will get your due. Do you know how kindly we take to traitors here, Master Jin?" Jin felt his mouth dry as Morrible didn't even wait for an answer. "We don't take to them very well at all." With that, she stood, and walked to the door, which was the only way out, and on her side of the table. She spoke softly to the guard on the other side of the door. A few seconds later, he entered the small interrogation room, another guard at his side. "Now you'll see how we take to failures." Said Morrible, as the smaller guard hauled Jin to his feet and held his arms behind his back as the other guard savagely punched him in the stomach. Jin doubled over, which just caused the guard to punch him swiftly in the nose. Blood ran down his face as the guard punched him in the stomach again, causing him to go limp in the smaller guard's arms, though he, unfortunately, was not unconscious. No, that would be too kind.

"That'll be enough." She said, before walking around the table so that she was in front of Jin. She smirked at him, as he was slumped over, only held up by the hold of the guard on his arms. She lifted his chin. "Now, for the piece de resistance." And with that, she began chanting. Jin screamed in pain as it felt as though a stake was pounded into his head. He had felt no worse or more excruciating pain in his life, and before the sound of Morrible's chanting left his ears, or the pain left his head, he mercifully passed out.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Ric sighed. "These are our recruits?" he asked his right hand man, Grey Drexler.

"Unfortunately sir, it would appear so." Said the second in command of the guard, his nose wrinkling in distaste. "They aren't a very impressive bunch, are they?"

"No." said Ric, sighing as he looked at Grey, who, while only a year or so younger then him was already well renowned in Oz for his help against Morrible. After all, he had been awarded the illustrious Order of the Emerald at the age of 18. Few people were ever awarded the medal, let alone at such an age. It was a fact that Grey reminded many envious older soldiers of. It almost always got them to shut up. "Well, men, snap to it! Attention!" he ordered, pacing down the line of recruits, seven abreast. "Names and homes. Snap to it." He said, pointing to the young man at the far end of the row.

"Holden Graln, sir! Of the Vinkus!"

"Art Tralten, sir. Of Red Sand." With a pang of sorrow, Ric was reminded of Calim. He pushed it aside, returning the passive but stern look to his face as he continued looking at the next recruit in line.

"Irjan Frulli of the Emerald City, sir."

"Kahndor Dali, sir. Of Munchkinland."

"Went Xerxes of Frottica, sir."

"Henri Youlda of the Emerald City, sir."

"Uldern Potts of the Thousand Year Grasslands."

"Alright." Ric's voice boomed, a skill he had perfected in his first sixth months of being captain. "Lieutenant Drexler here is going to take you to the assault course." He said firmly, then stepping back to allow Grey to take over from there.

"Go! Let's go!" Grey snapped sharply. Ric watched as Grey jogged after the recruits, telling them to hurry up as they approached the muddy assault course on the western end of the complex. Ric sighed, walking from the training complex and back towards the main building. He had a meeting tonight that he needed to prepare for.

If there was anything Ric hated, it was paperwork. In these sixth months since becoming captain, it had felt as though the only thing he had accomplished was finding new and exciting ways to file documents. He sighed. There was no way he was going to be ready for that meeting. He couldn't concentrate. Simply the mention of Red Sand by that new recruit had sent thoughts of Calim spinning in his head. Her voice filled his head, and her laugh filled his ears. He still missed her. Sixth months had done little to dilute his grief.

He sighed, taking the left fork in the path rather then the right. Thinking about Calim made him feel the need to break something. At that moment, that something was going to be one of the training dummies in the gym. Who cared about meetings, anyway?

* * *

Glinda laughed. "Boq, I really should get back to work."

He sighed. "Why can't the rest of Oz wait?" he asked, only half joking.

She laughed again. "Because they aren't as patient as you."

"I'm not nearly as patient as you give me credit for. I'd like to be able to spend more then ten minutes with you a day." Boq said, studying Glinda for a reaction.

"We spend more then ten minutes together!" protested Glinda firmly. "We eat lunch together every day." She said, trying to make a valid argument against what Boq was saying.

"You work through lunch most days, if you come down at all." Boq chided her, raising an eyebrow.

"Things have been busy." Glinda said, defending herself. She had lost an unsettling amount of her staff from corruption. As a result, she had taken on less staff, and only staff she knew she could trust at that. As a result, her workload had almost doubled.

"I'm worried about you. You're going to burn yourself out." Boq said gently. "You're having nightmares, on top of that."

"No, I-"

"Stop. I've heard you calling out. I can hear you from my room down the hall." Glinda blushed. "You weren't going to tell me, were you?"

"Boq, I didn't want to worry you."

"Glinda, I'm going to worry. I love you too much not too."

"Thank you." She said, sighing as she massaged her temples, and looked at Boq across the table, the dark circles under her eyes evidence of what little rest she had been getting. She trued to get at least five hours of sleep a night, but nightmares didn't exactly make for restful sleep.

"What are you having nightmares about?" he asked softly, knowing that she could easily shut him out.

"I keep seeing the same things over and over again." She replied. "Nessa under the house, Elphaba melting, Fiyero almost being burned at the stake, except in my dream I can't save him in time. Calim being shot." The blonde involuntarily started shaking, showing just how deeply the nightmare was affecting her.

Boq walked around the table, taking her in his arms. "Why won't my memories leave me alone? I don't need to be haunted."

"Shh…" he said softly, trying to soothe her. He had had no idea that these nightmares were troubling her so much.

"I don't want to be afraid to go to sleep, Boq."

"You're safe now, okay? I won't let anything hurt you." Boq hoped that he would be able to keep that promise.

* * *

Elphaba set the pen to the paper, and began writing out a letter to Glinda.

_Glinda,_

_I'm glad you an Boq are getting along so well. Both of you deserve a happy ending, and it's nice to know that finally you may get it. Fiyero and I are fine here – no I won't tell you where here is, don't ask- we've settled in well. You can tell Ric that we have made contact with his parents. They are both proud of him, and hope he is doing well. _

_Now, I suppose I can't ignore the elephant in the room. Your nightmares. From what you've told me, the most likely conclusion is that you are tired and stressed, which is causing you to have these dreams. I seem to recall you having similar problems during exams at Shiz. _

_So please, do something, anything, find a way to get yourself to get more restful sleep at night, I noticed your grammar and handwriting slipping in your last letter. You are clearly being affected. So please, for Oz's sake, don't do anything stupid. _

_- Elphaba _

Elphaba didn't point our that her own handwriting was sloppier then usual. And definitely did not mention that she had been having nightmares of her own. She folded up the letter and put it in the envelope. Just as she was sealing it, Fiyero stepped into the small house.

Spotting her with the envelope, he hung his coat on the hook. "Sending a letter?"

"Yes." She replied, placing the now sealed envelope in the drawer.

"Have you told her yet?"

"No, and I'm not going too." Said Elphaba stiffly, setting down the pen and standing from the chair.

"Fae."

"Yero." The normally endearing terms seemed to endorse some sort of stand off between the two, with neither side willing to budge.

He sighed. "You should tell her."

"I'm not going to worry her further. She's already not getting enough sleep. If she found out that I was having nightmares too –which hasn't happened since all that business with Morrible started- her problems would only worsen."

Fiyero sighed, but didn't bother arguing. When Elphaba decided something, she was decided, and nothing could dissuade her from her chosen path. "It's getting late. Let's get dinner going." He suggested, steering the conversation from less tension filled subjects. The couple proceeded to make their dinner, finally settling down to eat.

After an hour of pleasant conversation, and several cups of tea, they finally went to bed.

"Yero…" said Elphaba, breaking the silence that usually settled after they had laid down.

"Hm?" he asked, clearly half asleep.

"I love you." She said softly.

"Love you too." The former scarecrow said, wrapping his arms around Elphaba, before falling asleep. Elphaba soon followed suit.

Something was different about this dream. It wasn't complete. She could only see flashes. A face, cloaked. The flash of a knife. A scream, a laugh, a flash of pain…

Elphaba sat up in bed, panting and having broke out in a cold sweat. Fiyero was awakened by the sudden movement.

"Elphaba?" he asked groggily, sitting up next to her.

"Something has happened. Glinda, Boq, Ric. They're all in danger."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down." Said Fiyero, suddenly awake.

"I can feel it. Something isn't right. I can feel it. The last time I felt like this, Nessa died."

"What did you see?" asked Fiyero, concerned.

"Not much, just flashes." She said, explaining the content of her dream to him.

"Well, it could be nothing."

"I suppose." She agreed reluctantly.

"It could mean anything. You just need to calm down. Having these nightmares is stressing you. Just get some sleep. We'll worry about it in the morning. There is nothing we can do now." Elphaba nodded and laid back down, though she was clearly unconvinced. Fiyero fell asleep almost instantly. But Elphaba? Elphaba didn't get a wink of sleep the rest of the night.

**Well, I wanted to get Chapter 1 and the prologue up, so I hope you are enjoying it so far. :D Please review. It would be greatly appreciated! Also, I'd like to say thank you to my lovely beta LostOzian, who has been helping me get my plot in order. **

**-Heffy **


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Morrible lay on her narrow prison bunk, shifting in a feeble attempt to get comfortable. Her back had worsened as age and the thin uncomfortable mattress took their toll. She heard the door open and ignored it, assuming it was the guard. One guard was posted outside the windowless room at all times and looked in on her every two hours in daylight, every hour at night. So when a gruff voice with anger shouted at her, she was, needless to say, surprised.

"On your feet, Morrible!" she slowly turned to face the figure. He walked towards her, ripping her blanket off and hauling her to her feet. "Not fast enough." He spat, before savagely slapping her across the face.

"Who are you?" Morrible managed to force out, a look of confusion and terror on her face that pleased the cloaked man.

"You don't remember me?" he asked mockingly. "How rude!" he exclaimed, before punching her in the nose, knocking her backwards as her nose broke with a loud crack. She collapsed onto the bed, finally gathering the strength to push herself up into a sitting position. "Let me introduce myself." He said, pulling back his hood to reveal a youthful face, an eye patch covering one quadrant of his face. "Remember me now?" Morrible looked no less lost. "Let me… _Remind you." _He whispered, lifting the eye patch. Morrible gasped. The eye was a macabre thing, completely bloodshot, with double rings of black and gold through out. "REMEMBER ME NOW!?" The teen shouted angrily, seeming to dare Morrible to answer in the negative at her own risk.

"Jin?" Morrible ventured hesitantly.

"Yes." said Jin softly, a malicious smirk settling on his face. "Admiring your handy work?" he asked, referring to the mutilated eye. "I'll never forgive for that. But that's no matter. I won't have to." He returned the eye patch to its previous position before raising his hood again. "Besides, Phin never forgave you."

"Wha… What?" asked Morrible, sure she had misheard. How could he know about Phin?

"Tsk, tsk. Have you forgotten him so easily? How insulting to his memory. Phin. Your little brother. The one you killed." Jin said, as casually as though he were talking about the weather.

"How do you know about Phin?" Morrible demanded, tears welling up in her eyes as she thought about her long deceased little brother.

"Shame, really. It was you that suggested the swimming." Jin continued, ignoring Morrible's question. "Phin always wanted to hang out with his big sister. I doubt he would have been so cavalier had he known it would lead to his death."

"Be quiet." Said Morrible, her voice choked through the sobs.

Jin was pleased to see how distressed she was becoming. It was a beautiful thing. "You knew he wasn't strong enough to swim in the river. He was too small, too young, and too weak. But you couldn't resist the chance to show off. You wanted someone to look up to you. After all, none of the village children liked you much, did they?" Jin paused here and listened to Morrible cry as though she were a child again. Once more, he used his words as a dagger. "Shame, really, that it cost him his life. He could have a family. You would have nieces and nephews." Jin shook his head in false sorrow. "He could have been happy. But you stripped him of all of that. Instead, he spent his last few moments in agony, fighting the water as it filled his lungs."

He smirked, slipping his dagger out its sheath, which was hidden beneath the cloak. "Time to pay the piper." He hissed, deftly twirling the knife in between his fingers. "I'm sure Phin will just be so happy to see his big sister again."

Morrible screamed. In Quox, a verdigris sorceress sat up in bed.

* * *

"Sir! Sir!" the young guard pounded on the door to Ric's bed room.

Ric wearily got out of bed, opening the door. "What is it?" he asked, trying to appear much more awake then he felt.

"It's Madame Morrible, sir!" said the young man, still trying to catch his breath from sprinting here.

"Has she escaped?" asked Ric, suddenly feeling much, much more awake.

"No, sir! Morrible is dead, sir! She's been murdered!" the guard responded.

"What!? Run to the dungeons, tell Seth I'm coming."

"Right away sir." answered the guard, running off.

Ric was cursing as he pulled on his trousers, then his boots. It should be as difficult to kill Morrible as it was to try to help her escape. He did not bother with his uniform, pulling on a light jacket over his shirt.

Pulling on his sword belt, Ric took off down the hall. He didn't want to waste any time getting to the dungeons. As he appeared in the complex's courtyard, he took off to the left, towards the passage way to the dungeons. He hurried down the stairs, coming out just a few cells down from Morrible's.

"Seth!" he called, referring to the man he had put in charge of the dungeons. "What happened?"

Seth shrugged. "We don't know, captain. The guard on duty went in for the 2 AM check, and she was lying on the floor, dead."

"An no one saw anything?"

"No sir. I've questioned all my men, and none of them saw anything. I trust my men, sir."

"This is the most tightly controlled cell outside of Southstairs! How can someone just walk in?" Ric demanded, annoyed. This was NOT a good sign. What was next, a massive break out of prisoners in Southstairs?

"They didn't waltz in, sir. The sentries were killed." Seth said, pointing at the two bodies on the left side of the hall, their faces covered by sheets. "He hid them under the stairs."

"Was there any sign of who might have done it?" Ric asked, grasping for straws. "Anything at all?"

"No sir." said Seth. Then, "Well, actually sir, there was one thing."

"What?"

"Her eye, sir. He cut out her eye."

"Milady." said Ric, bowing stiffly.

"Captain." Glinda responded.

"There has been a murder."

"What is it, Ric?" asked Glinda, dropping the customs, despite the fact that her maid in waiting, Kayli was there. It was bad form, but at this point, she didn't care.

"Our enemy." said Ric, sending Glinda a look that asked her to get rid of her maid.

"Kayli, leave us." said Glinda, sitting in a chair, cradling her forehead in her hand.

"Yes, milady." Said Kayli, stealing a glance at Ric before leaving, closing the doors behind her. As soon as she was gone, Ric locked the doors.

"Someone killed Morrible."

"What happened, Ric? I thought she was secure. You told me she was secure." Glinda asked sharply. Her nerves were already frayed, and this was certainly not helping.

"I was sure she was. The people who did this… They weren't afraid of force. They killed five guards. Five of my best men."

"What do you think?"

"Well… To be honest, I doubt it was an inside job. There are easier ways to get to Morrible for a member of the Gale Force. Ways that don't involve murdering five guards. However."

"However?"

"The general public did not know where she was being held. We deliberately started a rumor that she was being held in Southstairs."

"So you think…"

"I think there may be a traitor. But I have no way of knowing who it is. It might not have even been on purpose! Guy is in the pub, had a few drinks, bragging to his buddies about how he guards the infamous Madame Morrible, bad guy puts two and two together. The Gale Force isn't responsible for Southstairs. It's really not all that hard to figure out."

Glinda sighed. "Wonderful. Just wonderful." She said sarcastically in a very un-Glinda like fashion.

"Well, in any case, I am personally handling your security until we have a handle on this threat. Also, I want you to carry this." He said, pulling out a small pistol. "Tell no one you are carrying it, but have it within reach at all times."

"Alright." She said, taking the gun and its holster.

"Do you know how to use it?"

"Yes." She replied with a curt nod. "Boq's been teaching me self defense. Hand to hand combat, swords, guns… After what happened six months ago, we figured it would be wise for me to know how to do some things."

"Good." said Ric, glad that Glinda was not helpless. "Now, as to what to do with the information that Morrible is dead… I'm not sure we want to release it. It might panic the population. After all, they have been told that Morrible is a great threat to Oz, but if someone is powerful enough to kill her…"

"What if we don't release that she was murdered? Just that she has died? If anything, that might cause peace. If they think that Oz is safe, even momentarily, it may work to our advantage."

"Especially if this is a trick designed to panic us. Perhaps they expect us to release that she was murdered, and if the population panics, they are hoping we'll make mistakes. Cut one too many corners and everything falls apart."

Glinda sighed, closing her eyes, and massaging her temples. Just what she needed. More stress. "So, in short, there is nothing more we can do tonight?"

Ric sighed and shook his head. "There is nothing more _you_ can do tonight. I need to go talk to my men. I need to question Seth's men myself. I know he trusts them, but in retrospect, sometimes paranoia is the healthier and safer option." He stood. "Come, I'll escort you back to your apartments myself."

Glinda nodded, standing. She sighed, suddenly feeling much older then her years. "Next time someone offers me the chance to govern a country, remind me to run away as fast as possible."

Ric laughed. "Come on, to bed with you, your majesty."

**Yes. That was fun. Morrible is dead. Jin is evil. **

**Just as a fair warning, this is going to be darker then it's brother. Sister? This is going to be darker then 'An Unlikely Ally'. There we go.**

**Thank you to my lovely beta, LostOzian, who listens to my plot ideas. **

** Please review! **

**- Heffy **


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"My fellow Ozians." Glinda paused. "Friends. I have news to share with you." She stepped forward so that she was up against the railing of the balcony. She glanced at the members of the Gale Force hidden on the rooftops. Finally, she returned her attention to the crowd, all eyes on her as she continued to speak.

"Ozians, Madame Morrible has died." Glinda paused for the collective gasp she expected. She was not disappointed. Then a cheer rose up from the crowd, echoing in the square.

"Wickedness has been punished!" came the call from the crowd.

Glinda raised her arms for quiet. What did she say now? "We must remember, my friends, to always aim to do good deeds…" Glinda's voice trailed off as something in the crowd caught her attention. A figure in all black was pushing through the people. The Ozians had not noticed that she had stopped talking, as everyone, it seemed, was transfixed on the figure. Whoever it was seemed so out of place among the brightly clothed occupants of the Emerald City.

Glinda glanced over at Ric. He was talking to a pair of messengers who took off, no doubt to tell the guards concealed in the crowd to take the figure into custody. Glinda's attention was returned to the crowd when a loud cry erupted. The figure had thrown back her hood to reveal an emerald face.

A wicked face.

Glinda realized immediately that this was not Elphaba. First of all, the shade was wrong. Whereas Elphaba was only a few shades shy of emerald, this green was too bright, like cheap paint. Which, Glinda reflected, it probably was. Secondly, her features were wrong. Elphaba had always had a certain element of elegance to her beauty. While this woman, for it was a woman, was not ugly, she did not have the same regal beauty as Elphaba. Elphaba was striking, dignified. This woman had a rough look about her reminiscent of a farm wife. Besides all of that, she was too short. Elphaba was several inches taller then the petite blonde. This woman looked to only be an inch or so taller then her. No, this was a facsimile designed to terrify the Ozians.

Glinda had to admit that the ruse was working. Those who had not immediately fled the square were now giving the woman a wide berth. Every now and then, the fake would dodge toward a knot of Ozians, the Ozians scattering as they fled to safety. Finally, the Gale Force surrounded her, ordering her to give up. She just cackled and _disappeared.._

* * *

Jin looked at his reflection in the mirror. His good eye immediately trained on what it always did when he looked in the mirror: his eye patch. The patch concealed the bad eye, the evil eye, that he was determined to hide from the world. It was for this reason that he had no idea why, each time he looked in the mirror, he chose to take the patch off. Maybe it was to remind himself what he was fighting for, or what he was ashamed of. He didn't know.

Nonetheless, he took it off. In retrospect, the colors should have looked beautiful together. Red, black and gold. They could work together. But not in this way. Not when they marked a horrible misdeed done against him. Not when they marked the loss of sight in one eye, only to be left with this… curse. No, it was not right. But the eye revealed, as it always did, that he had misdeeds of his own. His mother, his father, his sister. All dead because of him. He could have saved his father. He could have saved his sister. He certainly was powerful enough. But he had failed, as he always did.

Anger, sorrow, spite and self loathing all joined somewhere deep in his soul, rising up in one miserable wave as Jin's fist connected with the mirror, shattering it as a stone disturbs the surface of a pond. Ignoring the cuts on his hand from the broken glass, he angrily concealed his eye, shutting out his memories and his curse once more.

He reached into the bag hanging off his chair, taking out a tube of ointment he had… coerced out of a healer. Well, coerced out of her before killing her. He spread it on the cuts, satisfied to see that the ointment had all the properties the healer had promised it would. Almost instantly the pain faded from his hand, and he could see the cuts beginning to heal. Another minute and a slight sting, and the cuts faded entirely. Good as new. Now the mirror… That was another matter entirely.

A stiff knock sounded from the door.

"Yes?" he asked curtly, turning to the door and backing away from the remains of the mirror.

He saw Pitor, one of his men, silhouetted in the doorway. "Sir, we've got her."

Jin nodded. "Good. Take her to the meeting room. I'll be there in a moment." Pitor nodded. As he turned to leave, Jin called him back, giving him one last set of instructions. "Get someone to clean this up." He said, indicating the glass shards. "And get me a new mirror."

Pitor nodded. "As you wish, sir." He left the room without another room.

Jin looked down at his clothes. Drops of blood from his hand dotted them. He quickly changed into a fresh shirt and a shirt. He pulled on his bracers, thinking about how to deal with the woman downstairs. Ensuring that his sword, dagger and pistol were secure, he walked out of the room and down the stairs.

He recognized her immediately, the green ensured that. He smirked. "Elphaba, is it?" he asked, his eye feigning interest as he readjusted his right bracer. "Or rather, that's what you would like us to think." He paused so that he was directly in front of the chair the woman was tied too. "What were you thinking, Narquen? Did you think it wise to show our hand? Or did you perhaps think you would be honored for idiocy? Or, did you simply not think? I favor that opinion, personally."

"Sir, I-" she was cut off as Jin savagely slapped her across the face.

"Don't speak when I am speaking." Said Jin coldly. "Did you not think that the Gale Force would take notice of your little charade?" he shook his head. "Quite frankly, Narquen, this is not the first time you have shown a lack of judgement. It's a miracle you haven't gotten yourself killed by the Gale Force or at least imprisoned." Jin reached for his eye patch. "You leave me no choice."

"No sir, please, mercy."

Her pleas fell on deaf ears as Jin's eye trained on her, and he traveled into the darkest parts of her soul.

_"You're such a crybaby!" said a group of older boys, pointing at a much younger Narquen who had been crying, her skinned knee evidence of the cause of the tears. _

_"Leave me alone." She said, her bottom lip quavering. _

_"Crybaby, crybaby." The boys continued chanting, unabated. _

_"Leave me alone!" she shouted, her voice laden with power. The ringleader of the group of boys was thrown backwards. There was a snap as he connected with the wall. His arms were at funny angles, and he was not moving. _

_"Dan! Dan!" yelled one of the boys, running to his friend. He turned to Narquen, tears in his eyes. Tears he was far too proud to acknowledge. "You've hurt him!" He turned back to his friend, who was screaming in pain, both his arms snapped._

_"No, no I…" Narquen marveled at how quickly the situation had spiraled out of control. It had been an accident. No one should have been hurt. She fought the urge to cry in front of the boys, knowing it would only give them leverage. _

_"YOU, YOU… WITCH!" _

The scene faded from Jin's mind. Dan. He covered his eye again, having obtained the necessary information. "I'm sure Dan wouldn't be surprised at how you've turned out."

Narquen paled, despite the green paint. "What did you say?"

"Dan. Don't you remember him? You should. He did lose the use of his arms because of you. They never did quite heal right, did they?"

"No, no… That was an accident." Said Narquen, her voice betraying how she truly felt.

Jin shook his head slowly. "We both know it wasn't an accident. You wanted them to leave you alone. And they did. And so did the rest of the town, including your family. After all, who wanted to associate with a little _witch._"

"Stop! Just stop!" Narquen yelled, thoroughly tortured with her own past.

"Gladly." Then, as calmly as though he were eating a sandwich, he shot her through the heart.

**I like this chapter. It's probably my favorite chapter I've written in a while. Probably because I have more fun writing Jin then I probably should. He's just so 'fun'. Anyway, I just want to say a big thank you to my two lovely betas, LostOzian and Meltalviel. **

**Please review, it'd be greatly appreciated! **

** -Heffy **


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Ric threw his legs over the side of the bed, every fiber of his being begging him to resume sleeping. After all, he had been up just an hour before, dealing with the aftermath of the business in the square. The woman who had masqueraded as Elphaba had caused the people to panic, and though they had finally gotten the population under control and convinced them that it had been a fake, that the Wicked Witch of the West was dead, it had been very late. As a result, Ric would be running on low sleep, which lately seemed to be the norm.

He sighed, finally motivating himself to stand from the bed. Stretching, he ran through the mental dossier of things that he needed to do today, not the least of which was acting as Glinda's personal bodyguard during her state dinner tonight. He hated state dinners with a passion. They were long and pointless, but Glinda was expected to have them. As captain of the guard, he was expected to attend them.

He got into the shower, hoping the cold water would help wake him up.

It didn't. Which is why when he opened the door to his quarters and stumbled, he just assumed it was because he was half asleep, and as such, not totally aware. That's when he noticed the body. He recognized her immediately. It was the same woman who had terrified the crowds yesterday as 'The Wicked Witch'. The green paint was still visible on her face. However, she didn't look like she was going to be terrifying any crowds any time soon. She looked like the only one should would be scaring was the coroner.

He kneeled down, rolling the woman over so that she was lying on her back. He noted the large wound on her chest which was a clear indication of murder by a skilled marksman. The aim had been perfect, right through the heart. She had never had a chance. The skill unsettled Ric. After all, few marksmen had that accuracy, himself among them. This, combined with Morrible's death, was not a good sign for Oz.

He noticed a note pinned to her shirt. He unpinned it and unfolded it, then began to read the words clearly printed on the page before him.

_Hello, Captain. _

_I'm sure that you've appreciated my two little gifts to the city. I can see you now, kneeled next to dearest Narquen's body, reading the note and wondering where I am. For all you know, I'm watching you right now. _

Ric's blood ran cold. He looked up from the letter, his eyes panning the hallway slowly as though he half expected a shadowy figure to leap out and announce himself. Seeing nothing, he returned his attentiuon to the letter.

_Satisfied that you are safe? Don't get used to that feeling, captain. As this body and Morrible's death testify to, my reach is endless. So a word to the wise: keep a close eye on Glinda. After all, we would hate for her to end up like your dear departed. That's right, captain. I know about Calim dearest. I also know that you killed her. You just had to argue with her, didn't you? _

Ric felt bile in his throat at the mention of Calim. What right did this guy have to bring her into this? How did he know about her? He forced himself to return to the remainder of the letter as much as every fiber of his being begged him to ignore it.

_Done wondering just how much I know and how I know it, captain? I assure you, I know much, much more then you could ever guess. _

_-Your 'Secret Admirer' _

Ric paled before reading the letter over again, noticeing a passage on the back of the letter that had previously escaped his attention.

_So, you finally found out that paper has a backside. As a reward for this discovery, here is your prize. Jin. Don't bother looking, I don't have a file in the criminal records. You'll find that no one knows me. Enjoy your day, captain. Enjoy it while you can. _

Ric paused, stuffing the letter into his uniform jacket. He finally stood, running down the hall, and ordering the first guard he ran into to take the body to the morgue. That accomplished, he ran to the palace.

He knew he should have stayed in bed.

* * *

"Morrible is dead!" said Elphaba, shoving the letter in Fiyero's face. "If they can get to Morrible, they can get to Glinda!"

Fiyero grabbed her hand. "Fae, calm down."

"How can I calm down, Fiyero? She's in danger, again! We have to go help her!"

"Elphaba, be rational! The Ozians are already panicked because they think the Wicked Witch of the West had returned! Luckily, they trust Ric enough that he was able to convince them other wise. He might not be to do that again!"

"She's my best friend!" Elphaba protested hotly, determination written all over her face.

"Yes, your best friend who told you not to come back! Everything is not going to fall apart because you aren't there!"

"Famous last words."

"Elphaba, I'm not letting you go."

"What are you going to do? Slap me on the wrist and send me to my room?" she asked sarcastically, annoyed with Fiyero's arrogance.

"No. I'm going to say that I don't want you to go because I'm worried you are going to get hurt." He took a step closer. "I don't want to lose you."

Elphaba sighed. "One day. I'll wait one day." She conceded, wondering just when it was that she had gone soft.

"Thank you."

She smirked. "You're lucky. Had anyone else talked to me like that, they would be on the floor by now."

"I'm just so loveable." He responded with a smirk that matched hers.

"Don't mistake love for pity."

"Don't mistake pity for adoration."

"Adoration? Your vocabulary is improving. You're up to four syllables."

"Only for you, Fae."

"Oh thank you. That makes me feel so much better."

"Do I detect a bit of sarcasm, Miss Elphaba?"

"Well, they don't call me a wicked witch because they like the alliteration." She commented dryly, earning a bemused smile from Fiyero for her efforts.

"Well, sarcasm is just_ so _out of character for you."

"I never would have thought you capable of sarcasm."

"Me, sarcastic? Miss Elphaba, I assure you, I am completely incapable of sarcasm."

"Incapable. Another four syllable word. You're on a roll today."

"I'm quite impressive, aren't I?"

"Did you bump your head? It looks a bit swollen. Oh wait, that's just your ego."

"I love you."

"Unfortunately, I love you too."

"Good to know we agree on something."

* * *

Ric ran up to the foyer of Glinda's offices. Spotting Kayli standing just outside the door, he walked up to her. "Kayli, where is Glinda?"

"She's in a meeting. She should be done soon." The young red head replied, eyeing the anxious and stressed captain. "You know, Ric, I've been thinking…" she paused in case Ric had something to say. Seeing he had no response, he didn't even seem to respond at all, as a matter of fact. Unabated, she continued. "We might go well together. I mean, I've never felt like this about someone."

"Look, Kayli, not only is now not the time for this, Calim was the one, the only one, for me." said Ric stiffly, effectively brushing her off. He expected silence, maybe even tears, but not anger.

"So what, you're just going to brush me off, just like that?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry."

"How can you just brush me off?!" she demanded again, getting angrier, something Ric had not thought possible. "You brush me off all the time! Too busy being in love with a corpse!"

Ric flinched as though he had been slapped in the face. Kayli had no right to bring Calim into this. None at all. "I'm sorry." He said, firmer then before.

"Well, if you're so sorry, you can tell Lady Glinda I quit. If she asks why, you can tell her its because I can't fight a ghost." She said, throwing her apron at him. She stormed out the door. Just before shutting it, she called back to him. "Oh, I almost forgot. Go to hell!" With that, she slammed the door.

"What just happened?" he asked of the air, not surprised when the universe presented no answers. He folded the apron and put it on a small table. With that, he began pacing, waiting impatiently for Glinda to finish with her meeting.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Glinda walked through the double doors, looking thouroughly exhausted. Though she was barely twenty six, years of the stress of leading Oz were beginning to have an effect. She looked older, and instead of the bright infectious smile she normally had at Shiz, she usually wore a mix of a frown and a smile as though her mind couldn't discern how her heart felt.

"Glinda!" he said, clearly anxious.

"Where is Kayli?" she asked, noting the odd dissapearnce of her maid.

Ric picked up the apron from the table, offering it to Glinda. "She… uh… quit."

"She quit?" asked Glinda, taking the apron from Ric, confusion knitted in her eyebrows.

"Well… yes." Said Ric. "She and I had… differences in opinion."

"Oh."

"Yes." Said Ric, reaching into his pocket. "But that's not why I came. I found a little 'surprise' outside my door." He said, taking the letter out and handing it to Glinda. "The imposter is dead. Killed by a man named Jin. I had Grey check our files. The thing is, he's obviously powerful. He claimed responsibility for Morrible…" his voice trailed off.

Glinda finished for him. "He knows things he shouldn't?"

"Yes. He's dangerous."

"Intelligent too. He knew how you would react. He lined it out in this letter."

"I noticed."

"What can we do."

Ric sighed, running his hands over his face as he thought. "I'll go talk to my contacts in the underworld. See if they've ever heard of this 'Jin'."

"You have contacts in the underworld?"

"Yes. I figured it would be prudent to have a way to have an ear to the ground, so to speak."

"Prudent of you."

"I didn't want to get caught unaware again, like we were with Morrible. It would appear that I failed in that. This Jin person has killed Morrible and spread panic. The population is on edge, we're on edge… I'd say his plan is working perfectly."

"Of course it's going perfectly. Apparently the only one whose plans don't go perfectly are ours."

Ric sighed. "She's going to come, isn't she?"

Glinda nodded. "It's not as though I could convince her to stay away anyway."

"Excellent point."

**Hope you've enjoyed the story so far. **

**Again, thank you to my betas LostOzian and Meltalviel. **

** Reviews are greatly appreciated. **

**-Heffy **


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"He broke another mirror?"

Pitor nodded slowly, though he was not paying much attention. The man could have asked if Jin was grand czar of the royal army of Quox, and Pitor probably would have nodded. He was too busy doing what Jin had assigned them to do. They were to listen in on conversations and collect any information they could. After all, the Green Horn was the gathering place of many employees of the palace. As a result, it was the perfect place to sit in and have a drink while picking up any possible information. If you could remain unnoticeable, that is.

"What is that, the sixth this month?"

Having chosen his mark, who seemed like she would be a tome of information, Pitor finally returned his attention to his companion. "Humber, Jin and his mirrors are no concern of yours. He keeps us from sleeping on the streets, employed and fed. I seem to remember you being close to starving when he took you in." That sufficed to shut Humber's mouth. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to do complete the mission we were assigned." With that, Pitor stood from the stool, walking over to a young woman who looked thoroughly upset.

"Excuse me, miss. You look upset. Is everything alright?"

"Oh, I'm just having a rough day." She replied, offering a weak smile.

Pitor took a chance and sat down across from her. "My name is Pitor."

"Well, Master Pitor, my name is Kayli."

"Well, Lady Kayli, you can call me Pitor. For I am master of nothing, not even my heart." He said, turning on the charm.

Kayli giggled. "I am no Lady," she replied, her cheeks slowly turning a bright shade of crimson.

Pitor resisted the urge to rejoice. She had taken the bait. "One as fair as you? Surely not. Surely one as beautiful as you would have every man in Oz after her."

Kayli's smile twisted. "Not everyone."

"Oh?"

"Some men are too concerned with other things."

"Oh?"

"Yes. That stupid captain. I lost my job because of him. Maid in waiting to the ruler of Oz. Not bad for a poor farm girl who moved to the big city."

Pitor again had to resist the urge to celebrate. Not only had he found the unrequited love of the captain of the Gale Force, she had been Glinda's maid in waiting. "What a fool."

Kayli sighed. "Yes."

"Well," said Pitor, taking a chance, "I have a friend who I think could help you."

"Oh?"

"Yes." Said Pitor, smiling pleasantly to try to encourage her.

She thought for a moment. "Let's go."

Pitor smiled, standing. As they left, he suggestively winked at Humber, who just shook his head, sipping his ale. "That boy…"

* * *

Ric stared at the ceiling. It was barely dusk, but he was in bed. It had been a long day, and quite frankly, he didn't think he could face another moment of it. So he had retired for the night, after assuring himself that his personal guard was protecting Glinda.

So here he was, in bed, exhausted but unable to sleep. He had never imagined that events such as this would come up after he had seceded Tori as captain. But now that these events had transpired, the question was, what did he do about them? He sighed, rubbing his eyes and resigning himself to insomnia.

Suddenly, he sat up in bed, eyeing the door. It sounded like someone was on the other side. Several someones. He grabbed his sword from where it sat, careful to make as little noise as possible. He stared at the door, his hand on the hilt of his sword, half expecting someone to break the door down. So when a knock resounded, he flinched. That wasn't what he had been expecting at all. Keeping his hand on the hilt, he slowly opened the door. Perhaps less welcome then a team of commandos was Kayli.

"Hi…" he said carefully, wondering why she was here.

"Hi, Ric. Can I come in? I need to talk to you."

"Sure." Said Ric warily, stepping aside to let her into the room.

She walked in, before turning around to face him as he closed the door. "Look, I'm sorry for yelling and storming out like that."

"It's okay." Said Ric, offering a half hearted smile. Something about this didn't feel right, and his grip involuntarily tightened on his sword.

"Ric, I know that-" Ric held up his right hand, cutting her off.

"Look, Kayli, I'm twenty one years old. All my life I've been bad with girls. I can't talk to them very well. I never figured a girl would be interested in me. Then I met Calim…" He paused for a long moment, struggling to order his feelings. "She made my world stop. I loved her. I still do. So, I'm sorry. I'm just not ready to move on yet."

"Ric, I'm sorry. I had no idea. You really loved her, didn't you?" said Kayli, coming to the realization that she had been wrong. Ric hadn't been brushing her off and using Calim as an excuse. He really did have no idea how to move on.

Ric slowly nodded. "More then you know."

"I'm so-" she was cut off, but not by Ric. There was a knock at the door. "No, don't!" she yelled, but it was too late. A powerful two footed kick sent Ric flying as he opened the door. Before he could retaliate, his hands were behind his back, and a rag stuffed in his mouth. As soon as his assailant was sure he was secure, he was flipped over, revealing a lean and powerful man in a maintenance uniform and wearing a pathetically fake beard. He turned to Kayli.

"Good work." Ric's eyes widened, begging Kayli to tell him that she hand't betrayed him, that she hadn't set him up.

The fact that she was sobbing was all the answer he needed. "I'm so, so sorry Ric." She blubbered, forcing the words out through the tears. The man slapped her across the face.

"Hush, girl. You've served your purpose, so unless you want my knife in your heart, you'll not give us away." The man stuffed Ric in fake maitenence cart, ensuring that they would be able to get him out with no one suspecting a thing.

Ric resisted the urge to panic. Sure, everyone that they had known to come into contact with Jin had died. He would be luckier then that, right? His stomach lurched as the cart trundled over the cobblestones.

* * *

"Fiyero, take this." Said Elphaba, throwing a heavy pack at her lover, who had just walked through the door, arms laden with supplies from the market.

"What are you… Where are you going?" he asked, putting the supplies in the cupboard and rescuing his pack from the floor. "You said we were going to wait to go back. Wait for news."

"The falling house. I feel like I did when I saw the falling house. Something bad has happened, I just know it. We can't wait."

Fiyero's head was spinning, much like it had that first day with the lion cub. "Who do you see?"

"I see a door. That's it. It looks like the captain's quarters. Ric could be in trouble. We have to go."

"I should have listened to you." Said Fiyero. Elphaba had never been wrong when it came to feeling like something was going wrong. This was another of those times.

"All I have to say to you, Master Fiyero Tiggular, Prince of the Vinkus," it never ceased to amaze him how easily she belittled him, "is that you should air out your head. The straw must be getting a little stuffy."

"Miss Elphaba, you can't be suggesting that my head is packed with straw!" replied Fiyero, feigning shock.

"If not straw, then air." She shot back, checking to see that she had everything she needed.

"Oh. One or the other? The question is, which is preferable?" he checked his pack as well. "Where to?"

"The old safe house in the city." She replied without looking up. I doubt the palace is safe right now. The guards will be searching high and low and be on alert. It's far too dangerous to go back to the Palace right now. No, I'll just let Glinda know we're coming." She said, scrawling out a note and stuffing it in the envelope before placing the pen and envelope in her pack. She hurried out the door, pulling her hat on, her broom in hand.

Fiyero followed her out. To his surprise, she didn't head towards the stable. She held out her broom. "Get on."

"Can't we take the horses? That's how we got here."

"The horses will take three times as long the get there, and that's if we galloped all day. This will be much faster. Get on." She replied. He reluctantly mounted the broom, clutching the handle tightly. He felt Elphaba get on behind him, her green hands covering his white knuckled ones. "Calm down, Yero." She said softly in his ear. That served to calm him for a moment.

Then she kicked off from the ground.

Elphaba was saying something to him, but he could not make out what it was over the roar of the wind. Besides, he was concentrating on holding onto the broom with all his strength. As Elphaba slowed their ascent, he could finally make out what she was saying.

"Fiyero, relax." She said soothingly in his ear, sensing the tension in his muscles, and gently squeezing his hand to reassure him.

He resisted the urge to scream as he looked down. The view was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. The fields dotted the landscape like a patchwork quilt. His mind of course, immedietly made a leap to what he would look like if he splattered in the middle of one of those patchwork fields. "Have I mentioned how much I hate heights?" he said, his voice unnervingly shaky. He tightened his grip on the broom handle, a feat he had thought impossible.

"I know. Just hold on tightly, I won't let anything happen to you." Elphaba's words were so calm and reassuring that he felt safe. Then she started flying forward, towards the Emerald City. By the time they arrived, Fiyero's face was the same shade as Elphaba's.

**First, thank you to my betas, LostOzian and Meltalviel, and to all my lovely readers and reviewers. **

** In short, my muses thank you, my creative spirit thanks you, the plot thanks you, and I thank you. **

** Please review. **

**-Heffy **


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Ric's hands were tied behind his back, but try as he might he could not get them free from the ropes. He had no idea how long he had been tied to the chair, but he knew it was at least six hours. He turned and looked at the door as it opened, the sound he had been waiting for. Kayli was pushed in first, and Ric noticed a bruise where she had been slapped the previous evening. Trailing her was a single man, the only unique feature an eye patch.

"Captain Anders." he said, the smirk on his face evidence of how triumphant he was feeling. Ric was shocked by how young he sounded. "Pleasure to have you here as our most honored guest."

"Jin, I presume?" asked Ric, studying the teen's face. There was something familiar about him, but he could not quite put his finger on what it was.

Jin renewed his smirk. "Yes."

"It's a joy to meet you." said Ric sarcastically.

"Oh, the feeling is mutual, captain. I've wanted to meet you for a long time."

"I'm sure you have."

"Oh yes. You see captain; I'm a man of simple wants. One of those is revenge."

"What have I ever done to you? I think I'd remember the eye patch."

"I'm getting to that, captain. Do you remember how I promised you that I would not have a file in the guard's library?"

"Yes. I'm curious how you know about the contents of the guard files."

"All in good time. Now, when I told you I had no file that wasn't exactly true. You see, I'm the perpetrator of attempted crime 274."

Ric looked shocked. "You were the thief?" How could he have forgotten the file number of that file? It was the attempted crime that had set off the events of six months ago.

"Yes, captain. I am the attempted wand thief. Madame Morrible didn't take so well to the attempted part. So she gave me a reward, a curse, for my failure." It was obvious what the 'reward' was.

"So that's why you cut her eye out. Revenge."

"Very good, captain. There may be some hope for you yet. Now, you must understand that my eye was not simply taken. It was transformed." He lifted the eye patch. Ric flinched as the grotesque facsimile of a normal eye was revealed. Jin replaced the eye patch. "Now, not only is it a hideous travesty of the windows to the soul, it truly is a window to the soul. It allows me- forces me- to see the darkness and the evil in people. You have no idea how horrible it is to be walking down the street, standing in a crowd and see the darkest memories and desires of everyone around you. I saved myself from insanity by concealing it behind this eye patch. Of course, nothing is free in this world. The magic that should be sent out as I use my eye is building up inside me. It It makes me sick: nausea, colds, fevers, anything you can think of. If I were to leave it, I would die from the magical build up. Even if I leave my eye uncovered and bleed off the worst of the excess magic, by covering it at all, I've signed my own death warrant. I will die. I probably have ten or fifteen years, depending on how much I reveal my eye. Do ten minutes buy me another hour? Another second? It doesn't matter. All I want is revenge for my family."

"Your family?"

"Yes, captain. My family. You should know. You killed them. Well, one. My parent's blood is on Morrible's hands. But my sister, that's on you."

"Your sister?" asked Ric, nausea rising in his throat as he realized exactly what was being unfolded before his eyes. "No… It's impossible…"

"Yes, captain. My sister. My name is Jin _Lefay."_

"That's impossible.

"No, it's quite possible, actually. You see, we are twins. Fraternal, I believe the term is. How do you think they mistook a seventeen year old girl for a seventeen year old boy unless they looked enough alike to be related? And Calim did not remember me because mom took me to an orphanage just after we were born. They could only afford to keep one child, and she had always wanted a girl. Imagine my father's pain when he realized his only son was gone. She told him I was dead. No captain, I'm not sorry my parents are dead. No, my sister and I, my twin and I never got a chance. And that captain, is on you."

Ric just stared at Jin. He did, now that he was getting a good look at him, look like a masculine version of Calim. They had the same eyes (or in Jin's case, eye) and the same hair. "Calim never felt at home with your parents either. She told me that her dad left and her mother fretted on her constantly. All it did was push her away."

"My parents were fools."

"Jin, this isn't the way to get justice for yourself or your sister."

"I don't want justice. I want revenge. I may only live to be thirty, but I'm going to be remembered. All Oz will remember me."

"Jin, listen! This is no way to-"

"SHUT UP!" he barked angrily. "You took my only chance at a family! She loved you, and you killed her!" said Jin, his eyes filling with tears, revealing what he was at heart. He was still a scared little boy looking for a family to help him face a future too grim to contemplate. "No, I want revenge on all of you. And you'll help me get it. And then you will die." He turned to leave. "Wait. A parting gift." He whirled around so fast that he seemed to be a blur. But Kayli was clutching her now profusely bleeding arm, which was missing one very important appendage. Jin smirked as Kayli writhed in pain, blood pooling on the floor. "If my aim is correct, and it always is, I cut an artery. She will die within the hour Ric, watch as someone you care about dies slowly and painfully before your eyes."

Ric sat there in shock, before finding his voice. "Bastard!"

Jin shrugged. "I've been called worse." With that, he left, the lock clicking after him.

It took 43 minutes and 18 seconds for Kayli to run out of blood. Anything they tried to stop the bleeding failed, and after she finally passed out from blood loss, Ric was unable to continue to try to stop the bleeding, as his hands were still secure behind his back.

He could still hear her screaming.

* * *

Glinda paced, the interim captain of the guard, Grey Drexler, watching her beat a path into the floor.

"Your Goodness, I assure you, we are doing everything in our power to ensure Ric's return. We are performing a comprehensive search and I assure you, we will bring him back." Well, that didn't serve to assuage Glinda's fears at all. She just continued pacing wordlessly.

Finally she stopped, facing him. "Leave me."

"As you wish." He said with a curt nod, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

As soon as she was alone, Glinda stopped pacing, massaging her temples as she thought. "Oh Oz, how do I do this? What do I do?" she asked the empty room, not expecting an answer. So when she got one, to say she was surprised was an understatement.

"Well, you could check your envelope for messages." said Elphaba, stepping out from behind a bookcase, smirking as Glinda jumped back several feet and yelped. "That would be a start."

"Don't do that!" the blonde said, her face regaining color.

"Sorry Glinda." said the taller woman insincerely, unable to keep an amused smirk off her face at the blonde's response. "It's good to see you again."

"You too!" said the blonde, trapping her friend in a crushing embrace.

"Glinda… Air is good." Said the irritated taller woman, attempting to extricate herself from the shorter woman's embrace but finding it much harder then it should be.

"Oh. Sorry." said the blonde, releasing Elphaba from the vice like grip. "I'm just so happy to see you." Then, with a sharp look, "What are you doing here?"

"What's happened? Something is wrong, I can feel it."

Glinda sighed. "I hate it when you're right. Something has happened."

"What is it Glinda?" Elphaba demanded, her impatience getting the best of her.

"Ric is missing." said Glinda softly. "He didn't show up for his meetings this morning. We sent someone to his quarters to see if he was sick or something… He was no where to be found. We still have no idea where he is or what happened."

"Signs of a struggle?" asked Elphaba pragmatically and trying to keep her emotions under control. She had asked Ric to stay in the Emerald City, as captain of the guard for her. If he died, it was entirely her fault. She had put him in danger.

Glinda shook her head. "No, but the guard who is supposed to be outside his door to prevent foul play is missing. It's suspected that he is dead. Which makes me suspect that this was not a choice for Ric. Though how they got him to go, I'm not sure."

"Well obviously they didn't knock on his door and ask him to go. They took him." said Elphaba, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, which, in a way, it was.

"Oh. Right."

"For someone in politics, you're awfully optimistic."

"You make that sound like a bad thing."

"Well, I'm a pessimist; I make everything sound like a bad thing."

"Excellent point."

Elphaba sighed, a smile tugging at her mouth. "I really am happy to see you, Glinda."

It's good to see you too, Elphaba. I just wish the circumstances weren't so grave."

"Well, something-" She was interrupted by a knock at the door. Glinda didn't need to say a word. Elphaba was already gone.

She opened the door. "Can I help you?" she asked, her eyes taking in the form of a young page.

"This just arrived for you, Miss." He said, handing her an envelope before bowing stiffly.

"Thank you." She said to the boy's retreating back, before shutting the door.

"What was that about?" asked Elphaba, appearing from her hiding place.

"Letter." said Glinda, opening the envelope and beginning to read, Elphaba peering over her shoulder.

_Missing your dear little captain, Glinda? I assure you he's doing quite well here. We have been having lots of fun. Of course, our definitions of fun may differ, but that's beside the point. I wonder, who do you miss more? The captain? Or your maid? She was quite loyal, wasn't she? Shame that she betrayed you. No need to worry about her telling anymore secrets. After all, getting the dead to speak is quite a task. _

Glinda's attention was drawn from the letter by another knock at the door. She opened it, the same page delivering a package this time. She eyed the box warily, before unwrapping it. Once she had opened it, she immediately paled, throwing up into the trash bin.

"What's wrong?" asked Elphaba, concerned about her friend's sudden sickness.

The blonde pointed a shaky finger at the box. "See for yourself." She said, before leaning over the trash can again.

Elphaba warily peered in the box. It was a hand. A bloody hand. She resisted the urge to join Glinda, instead wrapping the hand in a piece of cloth before respectfully putting it back in the box. She picked up the letter and began reading aloud, trying to take her mind off the churning in her stomach. "Did you enjoy my little present? Do pass it on to Kayli's family. It's all they'll have of her to bury. Do tell Miss.." Elphaba paused. Her face dropped several shades.

"What? What is it?"

Elphaba's voice was shaking. "Do tell Miss Elphaba hello for me."

"How does he know?"

Elphaba looked sick. "I have no idea. No one knows we were coming, and I cloaked us. There is no way he could know who I am in the first place."

"This isn't good. There is no way he could know. How does he know?"

"I don't know."

"Is there more?"

"Yes. 'Oh dear, have I caused distress? The thing is, I know much more then you could ever imagine. For example, I know just where dearest Fiyero is in hiding. We'll be paying him a little visit. I'm sure you think I'm bluffing, so allow me: 379 Rosen Avenue." Elphaba was so pale that she looked olive. "He knows where Fiyero is. He's going after him. I have to… I have to go."

Without another word, Elphaba's cloak swirling in the wind, she was gone. She flew as fast as she dared, her only concentration on flying and a cloaking spell. What would she do if he was gone?

All too soon she was at the doorstep of 379 Rosen Avenue. She got off the broom, her heart beating wildly. She opened the door, barely stopping herself from flinging the door open. Her mouth was dry as her eyes panned the room. Nothing. No one. The room was empty. Then it caught her eye. The one thing that, at this moment, she had no desire to see. It was the one sign that confirmed her fears.

A letter on the table.

**Oh, that was a fun chapter. Fun, fun, fun. **

**Thank you again to my betas, Meltalviel and LostOzian. **

** Please review. **

**-Heffy **


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Lady Glinda! The captain is back!" said the triumphant young man, making an already confused woman even more so.

"What?" she asked, setting the letter on the table, having just read it for what felt like the millionth time.

"Captain Anders, miss! He's back!"

Speaking of Ric, in he strolled, a wide smile on his face. However, Glinda noted the artificiality of the smile. It looked fake, forced. Something was very, very wrong, but she could not quite put her finger on what it was.

"It's good to have you back, Captain."

"It's good to be back, Your Goodness," said Ric, his voice devoid of much emotion or inflection. "You've been getting along well without me, I trust?"

Glinda struggled to force out a smile, but she finally succeeded, her background in politics coming to light as she flashed her perfect teeth. "We've been doing our best," she said as ambiguously as she could. Then to the young man, the interloper as it were, "Leave us, please."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, leaving without another word, closing the large double doors behind him.

"Ric, are you alright?" asked Glinda urgently. "We got a letter," she finished, walking to stand just in front of the taller man, eyeing him carefully.

"I'm fine. Really."

"Ric,' began Glinda gently, taking him by the elbow and leading him to a chair, forcing him to sit down. "What happened?"

Ric was ashen, his face set. He looked empty, almost as though he didn't want to be there. When it was clear he didn't plan on answering, Glinda offered a new question. "Did you escape?"

"No. They let me go."

"Let you go? That doesn't make any sense, though. Why would they let you go?" asked Glinda, clearly puzzled. This sudden change in Jin's behavior made no sense. Why would he change courses from killing people at the drop of the hat, to releasing them just as randomly? It made no sense. Well, it made less sense then anything else that Jin had done.

"I'm sorry, Glinda," he said, standing and shoving the petite blonde into the chair, and pulling his pistol out and pointing it out her.

The black barrel of the pistol filled Glinda's vision. Was this it? Was she going to die here, just like this? Was this the end? The thought infuriated her. She was in shock. It seemed as though everything was moving in slow motion. "Ric, how could you?" she asked, an edge to her voice as she realized that not only was she scared for her life, she was angry.

"I'm sorry, Glinda," Ric repeated softly.

"I'm sure you are," Glinda said angrily, barely keeping herself from yelling at him outright. "Calim would be so proud." She said, Ric stiffening at her words. She hoped the words had hurt him. They were true, and he deserved to hear them.

"I'm sorry." Before Glinda had a chance to respond angrily again, the doors burst open, revealing a young man with an eye patch that Glinda had never seen before. He reminded her of someone. She couldn't quite put her finger on who. Accompanying him was the young guard, Art.

"Thank you, captain." Said the young man smoothly. Glinda's head snapped in recognition. Of course, it had to be Jin. How could she not have realized it right away? Then suddenly, she knew who else he was. He was the boy who had tried to steal her wand, all those months ago. She suppressed a gasp of surprise. How deep did this plot go? How many months had it been in the works? Had Morrible just been a pawn all this time?

Jin smiled, watching as recognition flashed on Glinda's face, though she tried to hide it. "I see you have recognized me, Glinda." Jin looked pleased with himself, taking in Glinda's mixture of horror and anger with an amused look on his face. This was better then he had ever dreamed it would be.

"What do you want?" asked Glinda angrily, clearly irritated that she had been so rudely stormed in on, not to mention the fact that she still had a gun pointed at her head.

"Tsk, tsk, Glinda. That's no way to treat your guests," said Jin haughtily. "It's no matter. I don't want too much." Glinda had a feeling that much meant something very different for Jin then it did for Glinda. "Just complete and utter control over Oz."

"Is that all?" asked Glinda sarcastically.

"And you dead, of course."

"Of course, how could you expect anything less?"

"Give me your pistol, Ric." said Jin. Ric instantly obeyed, and Glinda hated him a little more.

"Traitor." she hissed under her breath. If Ric heard her, he made no sign.

Jin pointed the gun at her once again. Seeing her stiffen, he laughed. "Don't worry, I won't kill you. The Ozians will take care of that for me. After all, they've proved brilliant at it in the past."

"Why would the people of Oz turn against me? I'm Glinda the Good. They love me."

"You're a murderer." Glinda stiffened at those words. They hit much too close to home. "Oh no, I wasn't talking about the younger Thropp sister, though you should be held accountable for that."

"Then what are you talking about?" asked Glinda, her anxiety growing.

"Art, you've been loyal, right?" asked Jin, casually switching gears.

"Yes, sir." said the young man, confused as to why Jin was asking.

"Served me for what, three years now?"

"Almost four, sir."

"I'd say you've earned a more important part in the plan. After all, I do believe in rewarding loyalty."

"Really sir? I'm so honored!" said Art, his youthful face showing how honored he felt. He had always dreamed of being trusted, being held up as important.

"Glad you feel that way," said Jin coldly, before turning the gun from Glinda and shooting him. There was a shocked, horrified look on Art's face before he crumpled to the ground. Glinda screamed as blood spattered onto her clothes. Jin handed the gun to Ric. "See you later," he hissed tauntingly in Glinda's ear. Just like that, he was gone.

As soon as he was gone, Ric pointed the gun at Glinda, who was now standing. "Sit down, murderer," he ordered.

"Ric! You know I had nothing to do with this!" exclaimed Glinda, pleading with him.

"Shut up," he said, kneeling next to Art. Glinda was surprised to see pain and sorrow reflected in his features. The old Ric was still in there somewhere. "I'm so sorry, Art." His voice filled with regret as he uttered the words he didn't mean for Glinda to hear. He stood as a pair of guards came running in. He pointed at Glinda. "Seize her." Needless to say, the guards were confused by that order. "She killed Art. That makes her an enemy of the state. In that event, I become ruler of Oz until a suitable replacement can be found. So do what I say!"

Glinda noted the change in the guard's demeanor when he said she was a murderer. The guards looked horribly angry. One roughly grabbed her arm and yanked her towards the doors, nearly pulling her shoulder out of its socket. "Come on, 'Your Goodness'," said the man, spitting out her title as though it was a horrible insult.

"This is a huge misunderstanding," said Glinda as she walked, flanked by guards who would use any excuse to hurt her. In their eyes, she had killed one of their own.

"Yeah, sure," said one sarcastically. He stuck a foot out, causing Glinda to go crashing to the ground. He smirked at Glinda, who was now inspecting her scraped knees and hands. He roughly pulled her to her feet.

"Sorry. My mistake."

* * *

Elphaba fought the urge to panic. Her heart was pounding furiously and she felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. The man she loved, the man she had married was in Jin's grasp. She wanted to scream and cry at the same time.

Everyone she knew that had come into contact with Jin was either dead or missing. She was utterly terrified of what the letter might say, of what terrible truth it might reveal. However, she also knew she couldn't leave without reading it. It could contain information, a clue about Fiyero.

She picked up the envelope, broke the wax seal holding it closed before taking out a single sheet of paper and beginning to read, her heart begging for the smallest shred of information about Fiyero.

_Miss Thropp, or do you prefer Mrs. Tiggular? I suppose you are wondering where your dear little love bird is. Before I tell you, allow me too provide you with a little information about the fate of your dear little Captain Anders. Always like a son to you, wasn't he? Shame then that his loyalty to Glinda and yourself has put him in such a difficult position. _

Elphaba tried not to let the words bother her, but they rang so true. It made her sick. She knew she needed to keep reading, but she couldn't motivate herself to continue reading Jin's neat handwriting. It made her sick that such foreboding words could look so calm and proper on paper, hiding the turmoil and terror they carried.

_Not that it matters. The captain will soon be returned to the loyal, loyal Ozians. Of course, his return comes with a price attached. My complete governing of Oz. Glinda will be all too glad to give me that. But then, it's not as though she has a choice. In fact, my plan to take Oz has already begun. Had you stuck around, you might have been able to help Glinda. But no, you had to run to see your precious Fiyero. Typical. _

_By the way, he is unconscious in the bed room if you care to see him. My men did quite a good job, I trust. _

Elphaba's head was spinning. Plan to rule Oz? Fiyero not in his grasp? Well, he could be lying. She glanced at the letter once again.

_I'm not lying. _

Well, that settled it. She had to see for herself. She walked to the door of the bedroom, her hand hovering over the door knob. Finally she threw the door open.

Relief coursed through her. There he was. Beaten, a little bloody, a little bruised but still here. Still her Yero. Satisfied, she returned her attention to reading the letter.

_Satisfied? Good. Sorry if he's a little beaten up, but my men had to knock him out somehow. Quite a little fighter, your precious Fiyero. But no matter, his injuries are the least of your worries. At this moment Glinda is being escorted to the dungeons. Her crime? Murder. _

Murder? Glinda was not a murderer, Elphaba was sure of it. If there was anyone Elphaba was sure would never kill, it was Glinda. Jin had to be bluffing.

_Well, Glinda isn't a murder per se. But when you have a body, a gun and the highly trusted Captain of the Gale Force telling you she did it, who are you going to believe? _

This was bad. Very, very bad. Glinda was going to be put in prison. Elphaba knew that Jin could make pretty much whatever he wanted to happen happen, so she had no trouble believing that claim.

_Of course, my timing might be a bit off, so if you hurry you just may be able to save her. _

Elphaba threw down the letter, grabbing her broom. Something didn't feel right. She could feel the broom's magic, and she could feel her own, but she couldn't reach it. She got on the broom. It rose a foot or two before bucking wildly and throwing her off. Elphaba couldn't control her broom. She knew a certain amount of magic was required to control the magic that the broom was imbued with, a fact that she had discovered when Fiyero had tried to use the broom. He had described it as being on the back of an angry bull and now she knew exactly what he meant.

She also had the sneaking suspicion that Jin had something to do with his. She angrily picked up the letter.

_Having fun? Find that you can't control your magic? You see, when you broke the wax seal, it released a spell that should keep your magical control out of commission for a week or so. That should allow me plenty of time to proceed with my plan. _

_Have a lovely evening, _

_Jin_

"You have got to be kidding me!" yelled Elphaba angrily, anger and frustration boiling up in her. Suddenly, she dropped the letter, which had burst into flame. Great. Not only did she have no way of leaving the apartment (no cloaking spell), she had been reduced to her pre Shiz level of magical control. In other words, she was at the complete mercy of her emotions. This day rated on the same level as the day she had discovered the Wizard was a fraud.

Fiyero was unconscious, Glinda was in danger, and she had no idea what was going on with Ric. For all she knew, by this time next week Oz could be being ruled by a psychotic mastermind bent on revenge, and she couldn't use her magic.

And to top everything off, she was pretty sure the burning letter had just caused the table to catch fire.

Could this day get any better?

**Okay, sorry this took so long. I had writer's block. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. **

**Thanks to my lovely betas LostOzian and Meltalviel, as usual! These two are amazing writers, so if you haven't read their work, you should. **

**Please review! **

**-Heffy **


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

His head hurt. So did his back. It felt like he had been mugged. In a way, he had been. A knock had sounded out the door and he had ignored it. Then they had just come right in of their own accord. He had no idea how they had managed to get in. He guessed that picking locks had something to do with it. He would have to suggest to Elphaba that they procure a dead bolt as soon as possible. He decided that it would be wise to ensure that nothing was broken or seriously injured. He hopped to his feet, his aching body protesting the sudden movement.

He had one bad cut across his cheek, stretching from back by his ear to just under his eye. One of the unwelcome visitors had been armed with an equally unwelcome knife. He explored it with his fingers, lacking a mirror. It seemed not to be too deep, just a superficial wound. As long as he cleaned it and it didn't get infected, he shouldn't even have a scar.

His fingers wandered upwards, to the swollen flesh around his eye. He was guessing that it was going to be, if it was not already, turn into a black eye. He could have sworn that he recognized the man who had hit him with that particular punch. It had looked like the first major criminal he had put behind bars. But that was the very discrepancy. Behind bars.

If he was correct in recognizing the man, then it was Pitor, a murderer sentenced to Southstairs for his many crimes. But that seemed like an impossibility. No one ever got out of Southstairs. Maybe it hadn't been Pitor. He had had a different hair cut, and no beard. But it certainly had resembled him. Maybe he shouldn't label it as impossible just yet. Implausible, yes, impossible, no.

Maybe it was possible. Jin certainly had proved that nothing was beyond his control or reach. After all, he had Ric. He apparent knew where he and Elphaba's hide out was, as evidenced by his own injuries. It was unsettling; Jin seemed to have an unlimited supply of information.

A horrible thought struck him. If Jin could get to Ric, if Jin could get to him, then Jin could get to Elphaba. His pulse rate increased, his breathing sped. He was on the verge of total panic. No, not Elphaba. Please, no, not Elphaba. His hands clenched into fists. He had to calm down. He had just come out of unconsciousness. If he had a full blown panic attack, he would be unable to stay conscious, and that would help no one. He had to move.

Now.

He rushed into the outer room, his heart pounding. Please, please let his gut be wrong. He needed Elphaba. She grounded him, she helped him. He needed her like he needed the air he breathed. Without her… Nothing had a point.

For years before Shiz he had lazed through his life. After all, life was painless for the brainless, right? He had been so superficial, so fake, so lacking in substance. Or rather, that was all anyone saw. It was much like Elphaba. There was wealth there, depth there, but it was hidden. Beneath green skin. Beneath a pretty boy who'd wasted opportunity.

She was the first one to truly see him. Glinda, the other students, they only saw who he pretended to be. Elphaba had never been one for faces. She cared about what the faces hid, which was made her friendship, her love all the more precious. Sure, she wasn't perfect, and on some level she still wanted to be normal, to be accepted. But still, she stepped away from the importance placed on faces. She had been judged by her own looks for too long to believe that looks were everything.

She was the most beautiful woman that Fiyero had ever seen. However, he also knew that when he said beauty it wasn't just the outside. That was a statement whose truth Elphaba had driven into him. But beauty had a double meaning besides the obvious. Elphaba wanted acceptance, she wanted to be normal.

He loved her, he accepted her. He was so in love that it filled him. If he died today, as long as he knew that she would be safe, he would die happy, safe in the knowledge that she was alive. He loved her. He lived for her. He would, if the need arose, die for her.

He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he hadn't heard Elphaba come in. Relief coursed though him as she looked at him, taking in the cuts, the bruises.

"You're hurt," she offered softly, not moving, rooted where she stood.

"Yeah. You're back," he offered just as softly.

"Yeah." She crossed the kitchen, the sound of her boots on the wood floor seeming to echo in the eerily quiet room. Fiyero could feel something handing in the air, some unspoken fear and anxiety radiating from Elphaba. "Sit," she said, filling a bucket with water and soap.

Fiyero sat in the chair she had pointed at, some of the ache releasing as he relaxed as best he could. She set the bucket on the floor. She eyed the rips and tears in his shirt. "Take your shirt off."

Fiyero lifted his arms over his head, wincing at the surprising amount of pain it caused as his collar slid over his face. Elphaba carefully folded the shirt. She would stitch and patch it later. They couldn't afford for it to go to waste. As soon as that was done, Elphaba tenderly touched her hand to his cheek, tracing the cut with her fingertips, her eyes searching his questioningly. "One had a knife," he explained. A flash of terror ran through her eyes, and he regretted being so frank about it.

This time, her wandered to the bruise surrounding his eye, gentle, careful not to hurt him. "Punches. They were skilled," he provided, noting her gaze shifting to the dried blood gathered under his nose and his split lip. Her fingers trailed down his face and over his shoulder all the way down to a cut on his arm.

He didn't need to explain where that cut had come from. He noted the scared look in her eyes once again, and covered her hand with his own, squeezing gently. "I'm fine." He offered a small smile. "A little worse for the wear, but still here." She said nothing, but his words seemed to soothe her, if a little.

Her fingers ran over his chest, pausing at the ugly bruise stretching all down his ribcage and over part of his back. She was as gentle and careful as possible, using a light touch, yet he still winced in discomfort from time to time. He knew she was checking for broken bones. As she did, she finally spoke. "How?" she questioned.

"Steel toed boots," he replied with a weary smile. "There were several of them, and I couldn't fight them all off. They got worse after I broke the leader's nose." He offered a shadow of a smile as she dipped the washcloth in the water.

She was wordlessly cleaning the cut on his face when he noticed her hands were visibly shaking. He carefully took her wrist, dropping the cloth in the bucket. "Elphaba," he said, his voice a soft plea, begging her to let him in. He stood so that he was at her eye level. "Elphaba," he repeated, his voice gentle, loving.

Her face crumpled. He drew her into his arms, gently embracing her, letting her sob in his arms. "They're going to kill her. I can't stop it," she sobbed softly in his ear, the horrible sorrow in his voice breaking his heart. "I thought, I thought they'd killed you. I was so afraid. Never, never leave me, Yero," she said, her voice weak. He hated what Jin had done to her. This wasn't his Elphaba. This woman was terrified. This woman felt powerless. This woman was in pain.

"Shh, I love you, and I'm not going anywhere," he cooed gently in her ear, rocking her back and forth. "I love you, and I'll never leave you."

They stood like that for a long time. Fiyero hated what had happened. He had never seen Elphaba this broken, this sad, this scared. In al the time he had known her, he had never seen her like this. That man, that monster, had done this too her. Jin would pay for what he was doing to his love, Fiyero swore that to himself.

Finally, after another stretch of time, Fiyero couldn't say for sure how long it was, Elphaba pulled back. He carefully wiped the tears from her face. "I'm sorry," she said softly, hating herself for the weakness. Fiyero slowly shook his head, smoothing her hair with one hand.

"Don't be," he said, interlacing his fingers with hers. "It's alright," he said again, tenderly kissing her. "You're allowed to be weak some times. You don't have to be strong all the time," he reminded her, his voice pleading with her to listen.

"I don't deserve you," she said softly. "You're too wonderful."

He smiled. "The feeling is mutual." That earned a small smile, which was enough for him.

She sighed, stepping back and taking in his injuries once again. "Sit. I need to clean you up."

He obeyed, settling into the chair as she picked up the cloth once again. Her touch was achingly gentle as she cleaned the cuts on his arm and face, and carefully scrubbed the dried blood from his face. She helped him into a clean, fresh shirt. Once that was done, she sat across from him at the table. His eyes were drawn to what looked like scorch marks. He had never noticed those before.

"What is this from?" he asked, pointing at the small patches of black, the small craters, marring the table.

Elphaba blushed, or rather, her version of blushing. In which case, her cheeks turned a deeper emerald. "Oh. I uh… Set the table on fire."

Fiyero's eyes opened wide. "You set the table on fire?!" he asked incredulously. Elphaba had done some strange things with her magic, not the least of which was inadvertently turning a bucket of milk into a bucket of cheese (it had been good cheese, too), but this was a new one.

"Well, not exactly. I set a letter on fire, by accident mind you, and dropped it on the table, and well you know," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

"How did you manage that? You haven't lost control like that since Shiz."

"He sealed my control."

"What? How?"

"I don't know. Some spell."

"Well, try not to get mad at me."

She sighed. "Right."

He thought. "Where is Glinda?"

Her face fell, and she resolutely cleared her throat before speaking. "She's at the palace. Or more accurately, she's in the dungeons." She noted the absolutely confused look on Fiyero's face. "They're saying she killed a guard. Ric is saying she killed a guard."

Fiyero's eyes widened to saucers. "What? Ric? But he's with Jin! He knows Glinda isn't capable of murder! He wouldn't be working for Jin willingly, would he? Why?" Fiyero said all of this quickly, tapping his fingers on the table as he thought.

"I don't know," she admitted with a shake of her head. "I just know that Glinda is going to die, and there is nothing I can do about it. Not without my magic."

"We'll come up with something." Fiyero said optimistically. He yawned.

"You should rest."

"So should you."

She sighed. "I have too much to do."

He stood and shook his head, a light smile on his face for her sake. He walked over to her side of the table, offering her his hand. "Come on. There is nothing you can do for now. Besides, exhausting yourself isn't going to help anyone."

As much as she would love too, Elphaba could not find a fault in his argument. At this moment was there anything she could do to save Glinda? No. All she could do was sit here and drive herself crazy with possibilities, the connotations of which she was not mentally prepared to deal with. So she took Fiyero's hand.

He smiled, leading her to the bed they shared. She got in on her side, he got in on his, willing his aching body to unwind. She looked at him, and he looked at her, love reflected in their eyes. Unspoken conversation, unspoken feelings met and clashed in the air between them, culminating in Fiyero drawing his love into his arms for the second time that day. Her hand rested on his chest, her head nestled in the crook of his neck.

"You are the hurt one. I'm supposed to be taking care of you," Elphaba said softly.

Fiyero swept a piece of hair from her face, before pressing a light kiss to her forehead. "I love you. I want you to be happy." She sighed contentedly snuggling into his side. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, trying to make her feel his love, trying to make her feel secure. Finally her breathing slowed and she slipped into sleep.

Fiyero on the other hand, found sleep much harder to come by. Was there any way to save Glinda? What was Ric playing at? Had he really betrayed them? What was Jin going to do? Would the Ozians really go along with this? Was Boq in as much danger as Glinda?

And the million dollar question:

What could he do about it?

Needless to say, it took him a while to get to sleep. But when he did, the beginnings of a plan had formed. He could, he would do something.

_Lurline help us all._

**I've been really prolific lately. Two chapters in less then a week! And I already am working on Chapter 9. It's almost like it's writing itself. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks again to my lovely betas, Meltalviel and LostOzian. Without them, this story would not be nearly as good. **

**Feedback is always appreciated. **

** -Heffy **_  
_


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

This was bad. Bad, bad, bad. Boq slipped into a crowd, pushing through the people in an attempt to try to get out the other side of the packed group. He glanced back over his shoulder, his stomach plummeting as he saw that the small contingent of Gale Forcers was splitting the crowd easily. Bad, bad, bad. He picked up speed as soon as he broke free from the crowd, not breaking into a full sprint for the sake of attracting as little attention as possible.

"You there! Halt!"

Well, so much for not attracting attention. Boq broke into a sprint, dodging through the people on the street. He was not comforted by the fact that he could hear the heavy footsteps of the guards behind him. Not that there had been any doubt, but he was sure this was not going to end well. One of the guards reached for his collar, and Boq barely managed to escape his grasp.

"Duck!" yelled a voice Boq recognized. He instantly dropped and rolled, hearing a rush of air as someone leaped over him, landing a hefty kick to the face of one of the men. His head snapped back as blood poured from his nose. Boq came up fighting, landing an uppercut to the jaw of one of the men, snapping around and quickly landing a round house kick on another.

He felt a fist slam into his stomach, but he fought through the pain, driving his elbow upwards and slamming it into his chin again. Still reeling from that injury, he slammed his hands on the man's ears, who screamed in pain as his eardrums popped. Boq landed a quick in his groin, and he doubled over. As he did, Boq elbowed him in the back of the head, which finally sent him sprawling to the ground, where he stayed.

"Not bad," said the other man, grabbing the jacket of one of the now unconscious Gale Force and throwing it to Boq. "Blend," he clarified.

"Thanks, Grey. I thought for sure I was done for. But why are you here, anyway? Shouldn't you be in the barracks or compound or something?"

Grey's face darkened. "No way was I staying in the same place as that traitor," he said, cracking his knuckles as he thought about Ric.

Boq nodded. "Understandable," he commiserated, shaking his head as he thought about the horrible betrayal. "How can he do that to Glinda? He always has kept her safe, even before Morrible started messing everything up. Now look at what's happened."

Grey raised his hands in a defensive position. Boq hadn't realized it, but his voice had been rising in intensity, his anger showing. "Calm down. That traitor will get his, I'll make sure of it."

Boq snorted. Having seen Grey fight, he would not want to be on the receiving end of that rage. Grey may not be as skilled with Ric with swords, but when it came to fists, there was no comparison. "Lurline help him."

Grey offered a wry smile. "That's right. He's a coward, anyway. He sent them to arrest me, he wasn't brave enough to arrest me himself. Had to send his little lackeys," Grey said, laughing as he touched a large bruise on the side of his face. "Only punch they landed," he said proudly, before adding, "Grey 6, Ric 0."

Quite frankly, Grey scared Boq, if only a little bit. He always seemed a little too hyped up for a fight, a little too happy to get to beat people up. Grey had won every unarmed combat tournament that had been held in the Emerald City. His opponents always came off badly in the fights. The deficit was ridiculous. Grey might have a few bruises, the occasional broken finger, but more often then not, his opponents came off with bruises, cuts, broken bones, or worse. There was a rumor that he had paralyzed a boy in his hometown; a school yard fight that had gotten just a little too heated.

There was a reason that everyone tried to stay on his good side. After all, while Boq had been able to take out one guard effectively, but Grey had taken out four in the same amount of time. He heard Grey ask him a question.

"What?"

"I asked if you knew how to find," he dropped his voice, "Fiyero and Elphaba. They're the only ones who can help us. I mean, I still have my contacts, and I can get them to raise a stink about this whole business, but it is not going to do us much good if we can't do anything to stop the actual execution."

Boq shook his head miserably. "No. I didn't even know Elphaba was here," he said, tensing just at the mention of the woman. He had forgiven her long ago, but some old demon troubled his heart, his senses, no matter how hard he fought them.

Grey sighed. "Great. Well, let's get out of these," said Grey, taking off the heavy jacket and stuffing it into a trash bin when no one was looking. Boq followed suit.

A half hour later and pockets a little lighter, the two men stepped out of a second hand clothing shop, having successfully procured two sets of clothes which were clean, but shabby enough to not look new. Most importantly, however, they were not Gale Force issue. As they walked down the street, two guards turned the corner ahead of them, casting a bit too careful of a glance in their direction. AS a result, the two young men melted into the crowd.

Boq listened to the people around him, tuned to pick up anything suspicious. Grey tapped him on the shoulder. "I've got an idea," he said, pulling Boq into a pub.

Boq raised a skeptic eyebrow. "You think getting drunk is going to make things an easier?"

Grey rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Not actually getting drunk. Acting drunk." He ordered two beers from the bartender, handing one to Boq. "Follow me," he said, leading the munchkin into the alleyway. "Take a sip so your breath smells like beer, and put some on your clothes," he said, opening his own bottle before taking a small swig, sloshing it in his mouth before swallowing. He tipped some on the front of his shirt, his left sleeve and down his pants, leaving the bottle about half filled with alcohol.

Boq copied his method, only varying the places he spilled the beer. "It's like you've done this before," Boq said observantly.

Grey chuckled, smudging his face with dirt, before rubbing a little into his hair and clothes. "Drunks are usually unkempt," he pointed out, seeing Boq's questioning look.

"Right," Boq agreed, dirtying himself, before taking the bottle of beer Grey held out to him.

"Okay, when we step out of this alley, we are both drunk out of our minds, got it?" Grey asked, looking to Boq for confirmation. Receiving a nod, he and Boq threw their arms over each other's shoulders. Grey adopted a glazed over look in his eyes, while Boq attuned his too a sort of drunken lopsided grin. Together they stumbled into the street.

Grey and Boq staggered down the street, pretending to take swigs of beer as they wandered along. They carefully kept away from members of the Gale Force as best they could, keeping their heads down and crossing the street at strategic points. If any member of the Gale Force even thought they recognized them, they were screwed.

Of course, they had to act drunk, so what would one do? Why run into pedestrians, of course! So as a result, in the middle of his drunken stupor, Boq ran into two women, Grey close behind. When he got a good look at them, he wanted to scream in horror as he realized who it was. Pfannee. Even worse, the other woman was Shenshen. If they realized who he was, he knew they would not hesitate to tell the Gale Force. The two friends had always held a grudge against Boq, not to mention Nessa and Elphaba. After all, they had 'taken' Miss Galinda from them.

He was going to take a wild guess and venture that the fact that he and Glinda were now engaged had gone over like a ton of bricks. Oh, right. No one knew that fact yet. He had proposed last week, and she had happily accepted. But thinking about his future wife was not going to help matters. Matter at hand, he reminded himself, matter at hand.

"Look what we have here, Miss Shenshen," said Pfannee, attempting to point at the two men, and betraying the fact that she, too, was drunk, as her finger wandered far, far, from where the men were actually standing. It was as though her muddled mind couldn't determine which Boq was the real one in her double vision. Relief coursed through Boq as he realized this. Pfannee and Shenshen were far too drunk to recognize him, this belief further enforced by the fact that Shenshen stumbled into Pfannee, the two women collapsing into a set of giggles that would have rivaled Galinda's most histrionic attempt at grabbing Fiyero's attention.

"Look what we have here, Rath," said Boq, calling Grey the first name that popped in his head.

"What do we have here, Swart?" asked Grey, wondering just what Boq was playing at, and hoping he had some brilliant idea.

"Two women. Well, I think they're women," said Boq drunkenly.

Pfannee shoved him, though it wasn't so much a shove as an attempted shove. It had all the effect of a fly hitting a windshield wall? No cars. Again, the woman attempted to point at them, and failed miserably. "Hey, watch it! You are talking to Shiz graduates, and fine specimens of womanhood!" she said, the somber words of her statement losing effect as the syllables ran together. Oh, the joys of alcohol.

"Boq, don't look, but there are two Gale Force coming this way," said Grey, pretending to stumble sideways as he conveyed this information.

Boq felt like his blood had frozen. "'Scuse us, ladies," he said, pushing past them, magically sobering up as he and Grey turned the corner and took off running. It was several blocks before they felt safe enough to stop.

"That was way too close," said Grey, wiping a bit of sweat off his face with his sleeve. "And we still don't know where our friends are."

Boq sighed in agreement. "We have to find away to catch their attention," he said, pausing to think. It had to be something that wouldn't stick out too much, but would easily catch the attention of Elphaba and Fiyero. The question was, what?

"Someone should shut them up," said Grey grumpily, jerking his thumb in the direction of two drunks who were signing a unionist hymn, while substituting some of the words with phrases no minister would ever approve of.

"Well, we are in front of a church," Boq pointed out. "Maybe we could join them? To blend?"

Grey shook his head, wrinkling his nose. "I despise hyms. Besides, singing a hymn isn't going to too help us find them."

Boq thought for a moment, then gasped, grabbing Grey's arm. "I've got it," he said.

"What?" asked Grey, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I know how to get their attention," Boq explained. "Just do what I do," he supplied, clearing his throat before loudly beginning to sing. "Oh hallowed halls, and wall draped vines, the proudliest site there is. When sere and grey our hath hair turned, we shall remember still lessons learned in our days at old dear Shiz. Our old dear days at Shiz!"

Grey caught on immediately, coming in a phrase behind Boq with his own special version of the Shiz alma mater. "Oh pompous men, and really old women, the most horrendible site there is, when gray and sere our hair hath turned, we shall try to forget what occurred in our days at old dear Shiz. Our days at old dear SHIZ!" finished Grey, ending with a loud raucous cracking note that took all Boq's self control not to laugh at.

"Shuddup!" yelled someone from a window above the street. In retaliation for the horrible rendition of the Shiz alma mater, the remnants of dinner were poured on their heads; fish guts and potato peelings. Well, they had succeeded at drawing attention, just not the kind they wanted. Brilliant. This initial response didn't dissuade the two men, however. They began with a new round of singing, this time ending theatrically with a loud clinking of beer bottles.

Just as Grey was about to give up on the Shiz alma mater working and begin singing a version of a Gilikenese folk song that was sure to get attention, Fiyero appeared in front of them, glancing around before jerking his head at the ally and leading the two men into the semi-darkness. "Are you two idiots?" he asked impatiently, conveying annoyance through his tone.

"Nice to see you too, Fiyero," said Boq sarcastically, dropping the half bottle of beer to the ground with a clink.

"What were you thinking? Were you trying to attract unnecessary attention? No one sings an alma mater when they're drunk! And certainly not Shiz's!"

"It worked, didn't it?" asked Grey indignantly, brushing one of the less desirable pieces of fish off his coat sleeve.

Fiyero shook his head, but an amused look crept over his face despite himself. "Well, we can't have you two in sight for two long. The Gale Force had gone crazy looking for you two, you know," he said, turning and briskly turning down a side alley.

"I might have picked up that vibe from the men chasing me earlier," said Boq sarcastically.

Fiyero nodded. "Well, we heard a commotion earlier, and we thought for sure they had found you," he snorted and shook his head, "Remember Pfannee and Shenshen? The Gale Force has them in custody."

Boq looked shocked. "They got arrested? For what?"

Fiyero shrugged. "Drunk and disorderly, I guess. They were yelling gibberish. Something about 'Swart and Rath and being women'." Grey and Boq suppressed laughs. Fiyero gave them an odd look, but didn't say anything, instead choosing to search the brick wall of the alley for something. Pressing an unseen switch, a section of the brick wall slid out of place, revealing a small doorway. "Home sweet home." He said with a smile, before walking in, the two potato and fish covered drunks trailing him.

**Yay for Chapter 9. I'm working on Chapter 10. Thanks to LostOzian and Meltalviel for being wonderful betas. **

**Reviews are great. **

**-Heffy **


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Ozians." Ric's voice wafted in through the thick door. Glinda listened intently, completely ignoring the three members of the Gale Force assigned to guard her. All they seemed capable of doing was casting angry looks in her direction or using any opportunity to harm her. As though to provide a helpful visual aid to prove the abuse, she had a black eye and a split lip. But that wasn't what made her angriest; no that honor was reserved for Ric who had yet to do anything about her state. He was supposed to be holding the Gale Force to a standard of conduct, and he was failing, just as he had failed to uphold his supposed virtue of loyalty.

She supposed, though, that she shouldn't be all that surprised at the fact that Ric seemed disinterested in holding people to their supposed virtues. After all, he was the one going along with Jin and all his crazy, deluded plans. The traitor. If Glinda got out of this, Ric would pay. She'd lock him up for good and curse him from dawn until dusk every day for the rest of her life. She had no idea why Ric thought that this was acceptable behavior, and she didn't particularly care to hear whatever his supposed reasoning was.

The problem with getting Ric in prison was the fact that she was currently scheduled to be executed in three days. That little fact complicated things. She had no doubt that Elphaba would try to put together some sort of foolishly brave rescue mission. She almost wished she failed or that something stopped the attempt. At least if that happened, she knew her friend would be relatively safe. But she knew despite all her wishes, knowing Elphaba, something brave and loyal but completely reckless and dangerous would be done.

She shook her head, returning her attention to the assembly occurring just outside in the courtyard.

"Today, Oz is entering a new age. A brighter age." Brighter. Right. Glinda snorted. The Ozians had no idea who they were dealing with. "Through the shadow of darkness, goodness will come," Ric continued, oblivious to the silent disagreement of the apparently former ruler of Oz. Shadow of darkness? Please. This was getting ridiculous. How could she have gone from Glinda the Good, beloved ruler of Oz, to Glinda Upland, the hated murderer, and 'shadow of darkness'? As Morrible would have said, oh, how the mighty had fallen.

"Unfortunately, even as we enter these brighter times, there are some moments of darkness, of horrible crushing discovery. A young man died for this."_A young man who was a traitor! _Glinda added silently. _A young man that died for trusting and following Jin. _"In the aftermath of this tragedy, however, Oz prospers, as it reveals a true darkness in our midst. Glinda Upland." A hush fell over the crowd at these latest words, time seeming to stop as one of the guards pushed her out the door.

"Showtime," he growled in her ear, pushing her forward. Glinda walked forward, head held high. For maximum humiliation of the young woman, they were marching her straight through the crowd. She would not give them the pleasure of seeing her cower.

As she walked through the crowd, all she heard at first were hushed whispers, people pointing at her torn clothes, her black eye and split lip. Then, the Ozians seemed to remember that she was supposed to be their enemy. Jeers and taunts rang through the crowd, seeming to ask for retaliation. One man decided that it was a good idea to spit at her. She, to his chagrin, did not respond when the disgusting tepid liquid hit her forearm. She continued walking forward, her head still held high.

To her surprise, there were more sympathetic faces then she thought there would be. It strengthened her. Her blonde curls might have been caked in dirt and grime, her dress might have been torn, and she might have had only have three days left to live, but it didn't matter. Someone in Oz didn't believe Jin's lies.

"Glinda." The voice was like a whisper on the wind. She glanced at the side of the crowd she thought it had come from, her blue eyes locking with the brown ones she knew so well. Her heart soared as she realized it was Boq. She was still moving, and their eyes didn't lock for long, but in the time it did, Glinda knew she had enough. Boq was enough.

Of course, the Gale Force chose that moment to ruin her joy as one of the men stuck out a foot and tripped her. Unable to stop her fall, hands bound behind her back, she fell to the ground hard. She sighed, shifting her weight to get to her feet as best and as gracefully as she could. It was a skill she had perfected, as the Gale Force certainly had shown no interest in helping her up the other dozen times that one of them had tripped her.

"Leave Lady Glinda alone!" yelled a young boy about nine years old, charging out of the crowd towards the guard that had tripped her.

One of the other guards reached out and grabbed his collar. "You'll regret that, boy," he growled.

Glinda walked towards the pair, her face set. "Leave him alone," she said, noting the abject look of terror on the boy's face as he regarded the cold, heartless eyes of the Gale Forcemen. The guard pushed the boy towards Glinda. He looked up at Glinda, her kind eyes softening the fear coloring the boy's face.

"They hurt you," he said simply.

"Yes."

"Why do you let them? You aren't bad. I know you wouldn't hurt nobody, Miss Glinda, I just know it!"

Glinda offered the boy a sad smile. "This is the way things have to be."

"But why?" asked the boy, growing frustrated. Grownups made no sense to him. "It's not fair!"

Glinda sighed. "Life's rarely fair. Now go back to your mother."

"Yes ma'am," said the boy, bowing slightly before running back to his mother. She looked as though she didn't know whether to commend him or yell at him.

Glinda resumed walking toward the stage. This time there were no jeers, just somber silence. No spit, just small nods or curtsies as she walked by. She walked up the steps to the stage slowly, flanked by two guards. She glanced at Ric, who looked as though he didn't know whether to be amused or horrified by what had just transpired.

"Because this woman is a murderer and has been deemed guilty, a new ruler of Oz must step forward." Well, that statement got the crowd's attention real fast. "And I believe that I have found just the man for the job," said Ric, struggling to keep a straight face. "Jin Lefay." Well, if the unrecognized first name didn't get their attention, the recognizable surname certainly did. Question, theories, and statements of every conceivable kind rippled through the crowd.

Jin of course took this opportunity to make the most histrionic entrance possible. "Ozians!" he called, his voice full of strength and charisma. He stepped down into the crowd, the people parting before him. He took his time getting to the stage, shaking hands, talking softly to those who asked him questions. Basically, he was having a politician's field day.

It looked like perfection. However, Glinda, who was attuned to the people of Oz, easily picked up on a general sense of unrest. The people weren't happy. That was a good sign. It meant that if Jin was a true politician, he might give a stay of execution, giving Elphaba time to come up with a plan. But somehow she doubted that would happen. But she could hope, couldn't she?

Finally Jin stepped on stage, casting a triumphant gaze in Glinda's direction. She didn't dignify it with a response. "Ozians," Jin began, his voice echoing in the eerie silence of the courtyard. "Oz is entering into a golden age. An age in which all people shall be equal. Wickedness will be punished with an iron fist!" To Jin's surprise, and annoyance, he didn't get the happy and fired up support he had hoped.

Glinda wasn't sure whether to be shocked or unsuprised. Jin may not have gotten the support he wanted, but whether that was because it was Jin was saying it and not her, or because the Ozians didn't see the point of such a statement was impossible to say. She also had the sickening feeling it was going to end up being the former rather than the latter.

However, this lack of enthusiasm didn't deter Jin. "My first act as is to order the execution of Glinda Upland of Gillikin. Her crime? The murder of Art Tralten." Glinda resisted the urge to point out that the ruler of Oz, according to the bylaws, had no power to sentence her to execution. He could imprison her under extreme circumstances, but he couldn't order her execution. Not without the courts signing off on it. However, she had a feeling that Jin didn't care much about what the law said.

"You can't do that!"

Well, that was unexpected. Glinda had no idea who was speaking, or why they were sticking up for her at all, but she certainly wasn't complaining about it.

"Who said that?" said Jin, shattering the stunned silence that had followed the outburst.

"Me," said a man, stepping forward. "Cien Tol. I am a legal counsel to the courts. You have no power to order an execution! I doubt you can even prove that Lady Glinda committed a crime!" he paused. "You, sir, are a fraud!"

Well, of course, that went over _really_ well.

* * *

Cien had no idea what he was doing. But he did know that he understood the law. It was very, very clear. All his time practicing law (which admittedly, wasn't long; his Shiz diploma wasn't all that old) told him that Jin ordering Glinda's execution was wrong. He also knew that the legal system of Oz would do nothing to correct this miscarriage of 'justice'.

So of course, being the idealist he was, he couldn't keep his mouth shut. "You sir, are a fraud!" Yeah, maybe that wasn't the best choice he had ever made. It was looking even less wise, because now the Gale Force was charging towards him, and Jin was yelling something about terrorism.

Terrorism, honestly? What was he, the Wicked Witch of the West?

Now the Gale Force was attempting to arrest him, yelling something about the need to punish wickedness. Apparently they hadn't seen fit to update their catch phrase since the days of the Wizard.

Well, being arrested would be bad news, so Cien ducked into the crowd, which surprisingly, did not try to stop him from escaping. If anything, they seemed to be aiding him, opening a pathway for him, and closing it behind him just as quickly.

"Hey," said someone, grabbing his arm. For a moment, Cien was frozen, fear grabbing his heart as he thought the Gale Force had caught up to him. "Come on," said the man, turning and fading into the crowd, Cien close behind. He looked familiar. Where had he seen him before? He ran through his mental dossier of faces, trying to match the man's with one, and solve the mystery of his identity. Who could it be?

At this moment, admittedly, he could care less who it was as long as they were getting him far, far away from the Gale Force and their spears and handcuffs.

Speaking of which, as they broke the edge of the crowd, a Gale Forcer charging towards them. Cien was hit by the sickening feeling that this wasn't going to end well. And then, in the true tradition of the Ozian hero, someone did something foolishly brave. The same boy that had tried to stop the guard from harming Glinda launched himself at the Gale Forcemen, knocking him off balance. The guard viciously slammed the child into the ground, the boy crying out as he hit the stone of the courtyard. While he was still down, the guard kicked him in the stomach, the boy curling into a small ball.

Well, that angered an already on edge crowd. Chasing Cien was one thing; he was a grown man. But beating a child? That was unacceptable.

Cien and his companion slipped into an alley, the beginnings of a riot echoing behind them. Well, that made for an eventful day, not at all what he had expected when he woke up this morning.

"Here," said the man, pressing a dark cloak with a hood into Cien's arms, and pulling his own hood up, dousing his face in shadow. Cien pulled it on, quickly catching up to the man, who was still hurrying along. Catching a glimpse of his face once more, Cien realized who it was. Fiyero Tiggular. Just one small problem with that theory.

There was just one small problem with that theory: Fiyero Tiggular was supposed to be dead. It was rumoured he had been killed by the very men he had led, though the exact details of his death were unknown. One thing was for sure, though: he wasn't supposed to be in the Emerald City, and he certainly wasn't supposed to be saving Cien from the Gale Force.

Of course, when he had woken up this morning, he certainly hadn't planned to be on the run from the Gale Force and have accidently incited a riot. Well, that was something for his resumé. He nearly ran into Fiyero, so engrossed was he in his thoughts.

Fiyero ran his hands over the brick wall as though looking for something. Cien briefly entertained the idea that the man was crazy. After all, being presumed dead may do that to you, right?

Then the hidden door slid open. Well, that certainly changed things. Fiyero led him up a set of dusty stairs, the only light provided by a single candle. He pushed open the door at the top of the stairs, revealing a simple kitchen. A woman walked in, and at first he thought it had to be the low lighting tricking his eyes.

"What happened to 'low profile', Fiyero?" she asked sarcastically, though her raised eyebrow suggested that this was anything but a joking matter.

Apparently, this was the day in which the dead rose, because before Cien stood the most feared, hated, and up until approximately thirty seconds ago, thought to be dead, woman in Oz: The Wicked Witch of the West herself.

Well, that just put the finishing touch on his riot inducing, arrest avoiding day.

**Yep. So, another new character. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I hope you liked reading it as much as I liked writing it. **

**A thousand thanks to LostOzian and Meltalviel. **

** Reviews, as always, are greatly appreciated. **

**-Heffy **


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Half of Cien wanted to scream but the other half, the rational half, reminded him that the Witch was connected to Fiyero, who had saved him from the Gale Force, so screaming and running away was probably not a very bright idea, and most likely would be considered rude. Besides, it wasn't as though she had attempted to hurt him.

He cleared his throat. "Hello," he said, shocked at how shaky his normally confident voice sounded under this new level of stress. Then again, he guessed that being face to face with the woman who was viewed as the source of all the evil and general discord in Oz would do that to anyone.

"Hello," she replied, sounding as scared and nervous as he was. Why would she be scared of him? What harm could he possibly cause her? "Who are you?" she asked abruptly, seeming to find her voice.

"Cien Tol. Legal aide to the courts of the Emerald City," he provided. He should be a lawyer, but he had had a lot of trouble finding anyone to give him a job, and he didn't have the money to start his own business, so he was reduced to an aide.

"He stood up to Jin," Fiyero added. "Rather loudly, I might add."

Cien shrugged. "It was wrong. He can't just order Lady Glinda's execution. Especially not when he has no evidence that she committed a crime."

The Witch smirked. "An Ozian with decent morals and half a brain. I'm shocked."

"I resent that," Fiyero said, seeing as Elphaba had looked right at him with the half a brain line.

"No, you _resemble_ that," she corrected with a smirk.

"Well, you resemble someone as well. A Wicked Witch, perhaps?"

"Very funny. Hilarious, really."

"I think I'm rather funny, yes."

"You would think that."

"You know, Elphaba, you can be quite damaging to my ego."

"What a coincidence! You're quite damaging to my IQ."

"Fighting again?" asked a new voice from the doorway, the man's smile fading as he saw Cien, who was wondering if he had stumbled on the Ozian Center for Missing and Thought to Be Dead People. "Who are you?" the man asked sharply, interrupting Cien's thoughts.

"Cien Tol, sir," he replied quickly, taken aback by the man's sharp tone.

"Boq, calm down. He's here for standing up for Glinda," Fiyero explained. He snorted. "Jin called him a terrorist."

"Oh," said Boq, offering his hand for Cien to shake. "Good man."

Cien just stared at Boq's hand, before words began pouring out of his mouth faster than he could control them. "What is wrong with you people? A nutter is on the throne, the rightful ruler, your ex-fiance, your girlfriend is in prison awaiting execution, and you're all dead or missing, there was a riot, and now I'm a fugitive too!" Cien felt himself flush, and he felt like he wanted to cry. He didn't know where he was, whether or not he could trust these people or why he was being so freaking emotional all of the sudden.

Then again, going from a trusted and well liked legal aide to being called a terrorist for standing up for someone you don't know can do that.

"Actually, she's my fiancée now," said Boq with a proud smile.

"WHAT?" asked Fiyero and Elphaba in unison with equally surprised looks on their faces.

"I asked her last week," Boq said, blushing, his cheeks pushing towards dark crimson.

"That's great, Boq. You two will be really happy together."

"Thank you," said Boq, the blush fading at the words from Elphaba. "Now let's just hoped the wedding actually happens."

"Oh, Jin will be taken care of, don't worry."

"Don't do anything stupid."

"I resent that. I don't act stupid. Reckless maybe, but not stupid."

"You don't resent that, you resemble that," added Fiyero with a smirk and a maddeningly flirtatious wink.

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response, Mr. Jump into danger and nearly die."

"'Nearly' being the operative term there," Fiyero pointed out.

"Too close for my liking," Elphaba replied matter-of-factly.

While the two continued to banter (At first Cien hadn't been able to tell if they even liked each other, but it became obvious that despite their words, they deeply loved each other), he collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table, trying to get his raging mind under control. It was like an angry bull, and he'd like very much to get off of it. Now, please.

He wanted to know what he had been thinking when he had spoken up. What he had been thinking when he ran. A more accurate question might be had he been thinking? And what did he think he was doing? Had he wanted to get in trouble? These people; Elphaba, Fiyero, Boq, all of them had either been wanted criminals, were wanted criminals or were runaways. Two of them were supposed to be dead on top of it! He was only twenty three years old! What had he gotten himself into?

Albeit, his companions didn't look that much older, twenty seven or twenty eight at most, but they were still older. He was young. He wasn't ready to face the realities of life as an on the run fugitive from the law. He wasn't ready to go around inciting riots and be constantly on the run. But then again.. He did quick mental math. Assuming Elphaba was twenty eight, she couldn't have been much older than he was now when she became the most hated person in Oz. Heck, she could have been, and probably was, younger.

So maybe inciting a riot wasn't all that bad in comparison. But that didn't make the situation and easier to handle. He sighed and shook his head, trying once again to organize his thoughts.

What would his father think of him now? When word of this whole situation reached his ears, he'd probably be disowned, or his father would die of shame. Or, better yet, his father would disown him, and then die of shame. He was supposed to be a prestigious lawyer by the time he was thirty, continue the family tradition. But Cien had never been one to keep his mouth shut, a fact that had impeded him not only in his career, but now in his life as well.

As for his mother, he could imagine her response now. A small sigh, an imperceptible shake of the head. However, it was the disappointment on her face, the disappointment in him that would be the worst.

And his sister. His wonderfully smart, marvelous sister. His sister who had just graduated Shiz herself, and was settling in the city. No doubt she would not be happy with him. After all, he was supposed to be helping her fight the bureaucracy that had prevented her from studying law as he had been able too.

Well, if she ever got to be a lawyer, he had her first case. His own.

Despite all his annoyance and self loathing for being unable to shut up and keep his head down, instead getting involved, he knew he had done the right thing. That small reassurance didn't make the consequences any easier to take, however.

"It gets better," Elphaba remarked, setting a cup of tea down in front of him. He warily eyed the cup, as though by looking at it he would be able to see anything wrong with the liquid it held. After all, she was the Wicked Witch. "It's not going to kill you," she said dryly, sitting across the table from him, her own cup of tea in hand.

Assuming that since she was drinking it, and he really had nothing to lose at this point anyway, Cien took a sip before clearing his throat. "What gets better?" he inquired, sweeping a piece of his blond hair behind his ear.

"Terrified, right? Wondering what you were thinking, and why you couldn't just keep your head down and your mouth shut?"

He offered a meek laugh, a bit unnerved at how easily she had figured out what was bothering him. "Just a little bit, yeah."

A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. "Good. It means you aren't crazy. Honestly, though, it does get better. Plus, you have people to help you. When I found out the Wizard was a fraud, and I knew I couldn't stick around, that I was going to defy him… I was terrified and alone. I had no idea what I was doing."

"Miss Elphaba-"

"Just Elphaba."

"Elphaba, why do you care what happens to Miss Glinda? Isn't she from the time of the Wizard?" asked Cien curiously, the logical side of his brain begging for information, as usual.

"Glinda is my best friend. And she is nothing like the Wizard. For one, she doesn't use scapegoats to secure her own power."

"Scapegoats?"

"The Wizard oppressed the Animals for the sake of job security," said Elphaba, her voice dripping disdain.

"So you fought the Wizard for the sake of the Animals, Glinda became Glinda the Good, you and Fiyero faked your deaths, the Wizard left, Morrible was put in prison, someone tries to steal Lady Glinda's wand, and things go downhill from there?" clarified Cien, after Elphaba had explained the messy situations of the past several years to him.

"That pretty well sums it up," she confirmed, sipping her tea.

He nodded, taking another sip of his tea, still processing this new information. But if she had really fought for the sake of the Animals, why was she so hated? What had she done to merit that? "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

She shrugged. "Sure. Go ahead."

"I'm just wondering… what exactly did you do that merits the title Wicked Witch? I mean, it's not like you killed anyone or anything. Did you?"

Elphaba exhaled slowly. This was why she hated the Wizard. It made everything so much more complicated. "I never killed anyone. No, I became the Wicked Witch because I told the Wizard what he had been doing was wrong and that I would have no part in it. Of course, they couldn't let the public know that anyone disagreed with the precious Wizard. So, Wicked Witch."

Well, that certainly put a new spin on everything he knew. It didn't really surprise him, however. He had always been cynical and apathetic towards politicians, a lesson learned from his father, who had spent many long years dealing with politicians. The only politician that had seemed to do anything that really helped the people was Glinda. That's why he had opened his mouth.

Which was exactly how he had gotten himself in this problem in the first place.

"That's idiotic," he pointed out, shaking his head.

She snorted. "It doesn't help that Ozians are sheep. They'll believe whatever they are told."

Cien nodded. "The only thing worse then the sheep are the people who use the sheep to their advantage. For example, a man in Frottica had a piece of land alongside a rich man's manor. This man had only this land to provide for his family, but the rich man wanted it. So he offered the man a price. The landowner politely turned him down, explaining that he had no other way to support his family.

"But the rich man wanted that land, completely ignoring the fact that he had acres of his own land, while this was all the poor man had. So he accused the poor man of stealing his horse. Of course, the poor man hadn't touched the horse. I doubt the horse ever even left the rich man's stables. But that fact was rendered irrelevant.

"You see, the rich man made a deal with the judge. The poor man couldn't afford a lawyer. I did my best for him, but at the time I was just a student at Shiz. What could I do?

"The rich man got the poor man imprisoned. As per the law, or what passes for it, the rich man took the poor man's property, and gave part of it to the judge." Cien shook his head, his lip curling in disgust. "His wife was left with no money and no way to support herself, so she had no choice but to turn to prostitution. The entire family was destroyed, and the judge let it happen. I was a student, and I went to another lawyer and another judge. You know what they told me? To shut up and keep my head down, that once I stuck my neck out for someone, my head would be cut off." Elphaba's eyebrow rose. " They weren't speaking figuratively either. But I just couldn't let another person suffer for greed."

Elphaba nodded. "I understand that. I think it was terribly brave of you to speak up on Glinda's behalf, I just don't think it was terribly smart. We are trying to remain under the radar, after all. "

Cien snorted." What could I do? Besides, we should get along just fine. You are the Wicked Witch of the West and I'm that terrorist legal guy who couldn't keep his mouth shut."

Elphaba laughed. "You'll fit in just fine."

Fiyero's ears perked up at the sound of Elphaba's laughter, a contented smile settling on his face at the sound. Boq waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello, Fiyero… Look, I know there isn't much up there, but that doesn't mean you should ignore people." Fiyero shot Boq a dirty look, which the shorter man responded to with a smirk. "What can I say? You weren't paying attention."

"That doesn't make me brainless."

"I seem to recall you being proud of that title at one time."

"I was young and stupid."

Boq's smirk widened. "So what's changed, exactly?"

Fiyero smacked him lightly on the back of the head. "I have changed."

"Ow. What was that for?"

"Well, Glinda's not here, so someone had to knock some sense into you." A second later, Fiyero realized that this wasn't the best choice of words he could have made, and that Boq may not be incorrect about his lack of brains. His instinct was proven correct by Boq's nod that would seem confident had fear not flashed in his eyes, unspoken questions filling the air. What if Glinda was never here again? What if she died? What if he died?

"Boq, we'll save her. She'll be fine," said the taller man assuredly.

He sighed. "All those days at Shiz, I never really thought she could love me, that someone like her could love someone like me. I just… I don't want to lose her," admitted Boq, his voice betraying misgivings and insecurities about much more than just their ability to save Glinda from this moment of peril.

"Boq, she loves you. She chose you for a reason. And we will save her." Fiyero was sure Glinda loved Boq. He had known her for long enough to be sure of that. The one thing the normally confident man wasn't sure of was whether or not they could save her. They had always gotten out of rough patches in the past, yes, come out of bad situations on top. However, some of this was due to luck. What if their luck had run out, at Glinda's expense?

Of course, voicing these concerns to Boq would invite him to have some sort of panic attack, and that would certainly not help the situation. He shook his head and banished the horrible thoughts to the back of his mind, and he returned his attention to the current situation, glancing once more at Cien and Elphaba, who seemed to be discussing something highly unpleasant and emotion filled, evidenced by the fact that Elphaba seemed to be 'wiping dust out of her eye'.

"She really cares, doesn't she?" asked Boq, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice.

Fiyero just nodded, leaning against the wall and watching her. Finally, he broke the silence. "She cares so much more then she lets on. She cares so much that you would never guess it." He said, eyes focused on her with the ease that only people who truly know and love each other have. "She's afraid to show it, but I love her for it."

At that moment, Elphaba glanced up at Fiyero, flashing him the small smile that she reserved just for him. He couldn't help but grin back like an idiot, unable to stifle the clichéd warm fuzzy feelings rising from every fiber of his being.

"I want this with Glinda," Boq admitted softly.

"What?" asked Fiyero, returning his attention to Boq after a moment of hesitation.

"I want a chance to have with Glinda what you and Elphaba have," the munchkin clarified. "If Jin takes that from me…" he let his voice trail off. He didn't need to finish the statement. Fiyero knew what wasn't said. It was the same thing that would happen if Elphaba was ever taken from him. He would make the person suffer unbelievable agony, so that they had to live every moment of pain that he was feeling from being separated from his love.

He wasn't normally a vengeful man, but when it came to the woman he loved, he would be. He would exact his vengeance sans mercy if it came to that. He hoped it never would. However, he knew Elphaba, and she had a slight tendency to get into just a little trouble on what seemed to be a daily or hourly basis, depending on the kind of mood she was in. He was almost thankful for the fact that she couldn't use her magic. At least it kept her from getting into trouble. Well, as much as anything could keep her from getting into trouble.

Fiyero was snapped out of his reverie, jumping backwards slightly as the door was flung open. In walked Grey, covered in dust, his jacket torn. He ripped off the low brimmed hat and fake beard he'd been wearing as a disguise.

"Brilliant, Fiyero, just brilliant! Starting a riot! Way to stay low profile," said Grey, clapping Fiyero on the back, his words filled with sarcasm at levels that even Elphaba struggled to attain. A moment later, he spotted Cien, who had just stood from his seat at the table, looking mildly terrified at the loud man who had basically just broke the door down. That's what it had sounded like, anyway. "I was wrong! You, you started the riot! Fiyero here just helped push things along. 'Get everyone fired up,' he says, 'make things harder for Jin', he says. Genius plan! Too bad that the crowd freaked out and boiled over."

Cien, for the life of him, couldn't figure out if Grey, who he recognized as another refugee to the Ozian Center for the Missing and Thought to Be Dead, was actually angry with him or not. Better safe then sorry. "I'm sorry?"

Grey smiled, clapping him on the back. "It's a good thing! If Jin's got a riot on his hands, then he can't be sending the Gale Force to come chase after us, can he? I'm just annoyed that Fiyero here took off without telling me. Left me standing there rather dumbfounded, he did."

"Well, that's true."

"How bad was it?" asked Fiyero, taking Grey's fake beard and hat and putting it on a chest pushed up to one side of the room.

Grey went over to the sink, pouring water on a rag as he began to wash the dirt off his face. "It wasn't too bad. There isn't a lot of damage, and no one got too badly hurt. The just attacked the guard who hurt the kid." Grey scrubbed harder, getting all the dust off his face. "Of course, then the rest of the Gale Force got involved. You know how they are. Blood in the water and all that." A happy smile covered his face. "Ric couldn't even get them under control."

"Good. That should complicate things even more. If the Captain can't control his own men, that's a good thing. Well, a good thing for us."

"You know what I don't understand? Why are they following Ric anyway? Shouldn't they be loyal to Glinda and not this…" Cien searched for the right term. "Vindictive nut job?"

"You would think so, but the Gale Force is actually trained to be completely obedient to the captain and the captain alone. The ruler be they Wizard, Glinda, or this Jin person, can give general orders, but the captain's word is law. As the Gale Force puts it, you can make a suggestion, but the captain is the only one who can make the orders."

"I don't know if Jin thinks we're behind this riot or not. I mean, it is a bit exposed, and it's not exactly the best way to not cause suspicion, is it. It's almost too obvious for us. But if he does think it was us, I'm all for letting him believe it," said Boq, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But it could just provoke him," Elphaba pointed out.

"But anger will push him off balance," added Cien, "That's always when witnesses and lawyers make the most mistakes in court. When they're angry. The best way to figure out if someone is lying is to make them angry."

"If he is angry, then he might push up the date of Glinda's execution," Grey provided, his voice muffled slightly as he dried his face with the towel.

"But if he does push it up, he won't be as prepared. It'll make things easier for us."

"What's the plan anyway?" asked Fiyero. "Do we even know where in the palace the normal places for executions are? Things have changed since we've been there. I mean, even last time when we helped Glinda, it's not like we were taking in the sights. Do we know how or when they do the execution? Anything?" The silence these inquires were met with was deafening.

Suddenly, Cien knew why he had spoken up. It was destiny. He could help. "My sister."

"What about her?" snapped Boq, trying not to let how worried and anxious he was show.

"She's a librarian. She works at the library responsible for palace records. That means schematics, policies, law books, Basically, all the paper work that goes through the palace ends up there in one form or another."

"A librarian. Perfect. Hopefully Jin is lazy and follows the normal procedure for execution, and doesn't switch things up."

"Hopefully."

"We rely on hope way too much."

**So that's my longest chapter so far. I really liked writing it. As usual. **

**Again, thanks goes out to my lovely betas, Meltalviel and LostOzian.**

**Feedback is great. **

**-Heffy**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

What am I doing? That was the question Ric asked himself as he beat a rut into the floor with his feet. Six steps to the left, turn on his heel, then six steps to the right, rinse and repeat. He had no idea how long he had been pacing, but he knew it was not long enough. He still had no answers. And if there was one thing he needed, it was answers.

Of course, answers seemed to be in short supply these days. There was one thing he was sure of, though: Jin was certainly not going to provide him with any answers. That was hardly surprising. Jin seemed to put much more value in questions, almost as though he was afraid of answers. Answers, after all, had an intrinsic value: they cleared a part of the world and made one's view clearer, crisper, and more precise.

Of course, the same could be said for questions. They had their own value; after all, without questions, there could be no answers, and without answers, too many things were left unsaid.

However, it could be argued that some things should be left unsaid. But then again, it could also be argued that there would be no need for answers if so many questions were left unformed (or unprovoked, unprompted, etc.). And if there was one thing Jin was a master at, it was raising questions.

Damn it all. He hated this. He should not have to betray all his friends, but it was not as if he had a choice. There was no easy way out of this, because when it really came down to it, to the bottom line, Jin was the family of the woman he had wanted to marry, the woman he had loved. As much as he detested the man, he did not have the strength to kill him. Oh how he wished he had the strength to kill him. The strength to kill the man who was doing such harm to that which he loved. It was not fair. Calim had always said that one of the things she always loved about Ric was his goodness, the fact that he was a merciful, and at heart, a good man.

But the question that plagued him was this: what would she say if she saw him now? Would she curse his name as he was sure the others were doing at that very moment, unable to see that he had no choice? That this had to happen? That he was weak? He was not strong enough, brave enough, smart enough to save Calim, and now Glinda was going to share her fate. Because he, Ric Anders, was a weak, pathetic shadow of a man.

In the end, he hoped Jin would kill him as he thought he would. After all, Jin was already planning to kill everyone else, why not him? Besides, if anyone deserved to die, it was him. He was a traitor, and he deserved punishment for his sins. He deserved what Calim had not. Then maybe, just maybe, things would be balanced.

But as much as he wanted to believe this, he doubted it would happen. Something about Oz seemed to attract megalomaniacs. After Morrible, Jin had followed, and he was certain someone would 

come along after Jin. He doubted that there would ever be peace. And if Jin did succeed in ending Glinda's life, then who was there to stand in his way? To exert some sort of control? He was certain of one thing; the Ozians would be no use. They were sheep, and followed who ever had the loudest voice. Thinking, to them, was overrated. After all, thought might shatter what they thought they knew, and that would be disastrous! After all, thinking might raise questions, and questions would require answers, and trying to discover answers might challenge the Ozians mentally, physically, intellectually, and ten dozen other ways that Ric did not care to contemplate. Ignorance truly seemed to be considered bliss.

Challenging preconceived notions was an unwelcome possibility, one that many people chose not to entertain, and those who did paid dearly for it, a truth that Elphaba provided evidence for.

A mistake. Thinking of Elphaba had been a mistake. Thinking of Elphaba reminded Ric of Glinda, and Glinda reminded him of Calim, and Calim reminded Ric of Jin, and Jin reminded him that he was a traitor. And that just made him feel like a piece of garbage. What was he thinking? He should have just had Jin kill him. He was personally of the opinion that the only reason Jin hadn't killed him was because he needed the Gale Force under his thumb. It was very possible.

He should have raised the alarm as soon as Jin had imprisoned Glinda. He knew he should of. But he hadn't been willing to put the younger soldiers in such danger. They still had life to live, and besides, it wasn't as though Jin played fair. He and his men would have been massacred, but at least he would have died a hero rather than a traitor. Now? Now he was stuck as a loathed man. A loathed figure to all? No. But a loathed figure to the only people that mattered to him.

It wouldn't be so bad if he could at least justify this to himself. But he couldn't. He knew he couldn't, and that ate at him. But there was no way out. He was trapped with no way out, pressed in on all sides. Trapped, like a bird in a cage. He had never fared well in cages. He was always the bird that flew away before he could be captured. Now? He was in a cage, and the lock had been thrown away.

"Thinking?" Pitor's voice shot into his ears, severing his train of thought. Ric glanced at the man, his fists unconsciously clenching as he took in the man who now took joy in reminding Ric at every chance he had about how he had escaped from right under Ric's nose. It was infuriating, seeing that he was now the right hand man to one of the, if not the, most dangerous criminals that had ever been loosed on Oz (which was quite a statement, actually, seeing as how Morrible had been on the loose not a year earlier).

"Yes, thinking. It's something people do. Of course, you wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Pitor?" said Ric, straightening his uniform sleeve.

Pitor expertly flicked open a switchblade, examining the blade, which was expertly cleaned and sharpened. "You'd better watch yourself, Anders," he said, twirling the blade in his fingers before throwing 

it at a painting on the wall, hitting the portrait right between the eyes. "I ask and Jin will hand you over to me," he said confidently, tugging the blade from where it was wedged between the figure's eyes.

"You overestimate yourself, Pitor, as usual."

"Actually Ric, I think you underestimate me. You see, I have quite a bit of sway with dear Jin. After all, he does turn to me for advice. He needs me. I however, don't need him." If Ric's eyebrow had risen any higher, it would have been hitting the ceiling. "Yes, Ric. You see it as well. I'm offering you a chance. You can join me, and help me dispose of the worm, or you can stay with the worm, and die with him. Lovely choice, isn't it?"

"Pitor, you're telling me that you are going to overthrow Jin? Honestly? He is ruthless. He won't hesitate to kill you. If he even thinks he gets wind of this, he will kill you." As much as Ric was acting as though he was against this, he was interested. He could work this to his advantage. If he told Jin that his right hand man was planning his betrayal, perhaps he could earn some of Jin's trust, or at least a semblance of something that resembled trust, which, it was quite possible, would be all that Jin would be capable of. If it was, he would not be particularly surprised. And if he gained that, perhaps he could convince Jin to keep Glinda alive long enough to give him time to come up with a plan, or to give Fiyero and Elphaba time to come up with something.

"I am. And if you don't help me, if I were you, I would call the undertaker and have a coffin waiting. And don't think to mention this to anyone; you never know who might be on my side. Think about it, Anders. Think about it long and hard."

"Who do I go to to give my answer?" Ric asked as innocently as he could.

Pitor smirked. "Nice try. I'm not handing out the names of anyone on my side. You bring your answer to me by tomorrow night, or you will wake up the next morning with a knife in your back. Think, Anders. Think. You'd be a powerful ally, and I would hate to see that go to waste. After all, as valuable as you would be as an ally, you would be a far more dangerous enemy."

"So I'm either with you, or I'm dead?"

"There is hope for you yet," Pitor said with a smirk. "Think about it, who would you rather be against? Someone who gives no guarantees or someone who is guaranteeing your safety? Think about it, Anders." With that, he left.

Was it too much to ask for anything in his life to be uncomplicated? Now Pitor was setting up Jin for a fall, and he wanted Ric to be a part of it. For all he knew, this was a test for Ric, a set up to see how loyal he really was. Or Pitor might really have a plot up his sleeve. Complications, complications, complications everywhere.

The question remained, if Pitor was genuine, he had a point. Who did he trust? Pitor, who guaranteed his safety (though who could say how much his word was worth? After all, he was a murderer), or Jin, who was just as dangerous as Pitor, but gave no guarantee? Actually, there was one guarantee with Jin. The most likely outcome of being in his company? Death.

Ric missed his childhood. Things had been so easy. Everything had been black and white. It was right, or it was wrong, there was no middle ground, no room for interpretation, none of these blasted shades of gray. Even things with Morrible had been less complicated. Morrible had been evil; it was as simple as that.

Jin, on the other hand, was a seriously wronged young man, who had been separated from his family, tormented and disfigured. But did that give him license to do whatever he wanted? No. But did it certainly make it harder to hate him, to want him to be punished the way he did with Morrible? Yes. And this wasn't helped by the fact that he was the long lost family of his dead fiancée. Shades of gray were all over the place, and did not look to be going anywhere.

Maybe he should run. Run and never look back. If he took his horse, he could be out of the city before Jin even knew he was gone. But knowing his luck, Jin would hunt him down, kill everyone in the city where he was hiding, and then kill him. He should have done what his mother had advised him to do so many years ago when she and his father were thinking about moving to Quox. 'Ric,' she had said, 'All you'll find here is trouble. Ideals lead you to nothing but trouble. Leave well enough alone and come with us.'

What had he done? Ignored her advising, his idealism leading him to the Gale Force on a secret assignment from Elphaba. Had his parents been proud? Of course. But he knew his mother had wished he had done as she had said and come with them to Quox. Now he wished he had listened. All he had found here was messes and a fair share of pain. Of course, it wasn't all bad. Glinda and Boq had become good friends, as had Fiyero and Elphaba. And of course, he had met Calim, and the time with her, however short-lived, had been the best time of his short life.

But now, all of that had been shot to hell by a young man with a bad temper and an eye patch.

Speaking of the bad tempered pirate, here he was. "Anders," Jin barked, the door seeming to jump to get out of the eighteen year olds way. "Have you seen Pitor?"

"You just missed him," said Ric, evaluating Jin's posture. He did not seem angry, which was always a good sign. After all, when he was angry, people tended to die. Or at least be tortured, either physically, with one of Jin's favorite 'toys', or emotionally, being forced to relive their worst memories and darkest secrets. Or if Jin was in a particularly foul mood, both.

"Did I?" asked Jin, his eyebrow raising much the way Ric's had only moments before. "Why, may I ask, was he here to see you?"

Ric forced his breathing to stay even. This was the moment when he had to make a decision. He hated these moments. So much rested on this moment. He could tell Jin about Pitor's plot, and risk incurring Pitor's wrath for Jin's favor. Unless of course, Jin refused to believe ill of his first mate on this, the good ship misery, and simply killed Ric outright. Of course, if he didn't say anything and this turned out to be a test, then he could end up dead anyway. Decision time.

"Because he was trying to recruit me."

"Recruit you? For what, exactly?" It did not pass Ric unnoticed that Jin was now reaching towards the dagger he kept on his belt, a fact that was not reassuring in the least.

"To help him. To help him plot to kill you." No sooner had the words passed his lips had Jin slid forward faster than his eyes could track him, and grabbed him by the front of his uniform jacket, knife held to his throat.

"And why should I believe you?" Jin asked, his voice a deadly hiss, seeming to dare Ric to give the wrong answer.

Ric again forced himself to remain calm, though the adrenaline was pumping, and possibilities ran through his head. Jin was strong, but he was just as strong, if not stronger. He reckoned he could get the knife from him or at least disarm him, and then, suddenly, he would be on top. He would have the power. But for all he knew, Jin had another dagger hidden in his cloak, or worse, a pistol. He was never unprepared. His best chance at making it out of this room alive was to tell the truth. "Because I'm telling you."

Jin began to laugh, letting Ric squirm before letting go of his collar, pushing him backwards. "I'm disappointed, Anders. I thought for sure you were going to give me an excuse to kill you. So I will just have to wait a bit longer for that time to come around. I've known about Pitor's pathetic attempt at a plot for a long time. He underestimates the loyalty of my people."

Well, that told Ric something valuable. Either Jin really did know everything and his lackeys really were as loyal as he thought they were, or he was just really good at bluffing. In any case, it bought Ric a little more time alive, which was always a welcome gift. "What do you want to do?"

"You're going to tell him you'll help him," said Jin, flipping the knife in the air and catching it before slipping it into his belt once again. "Then, when I give you the word… You'll kill him."

"Me?"

"Yes, Ric. You. When I give the word, you will kill Pitor. Or I will kill you."

Great. Now he just had to kill someone to ensure his own life. Though it could be worse? Right, because none of this was a complete disaster. "Fine."

Jin smirked. "Good. Now that we have an understanding, have a _lovely _evening." With that, he left.

Ric wanted to run. He wanted to, but he could not. He was trapped, stuck, his hands tied. And he hated it. He wished he had listened to his mother. He could have had a pleasant little farm or maybe even a shop in Quox. But no, here he was. Trapped.

"_I hate this!"_ With that childish exclamation, Ric punched the stone wall, nearly breaking his hand in the process, doing all the good of an animal running into the bars of his cage. That was it. This animal was done with the cage. It was time to act.

Ric ignored the throbbing in his hand, pulling out the prison schedule, and the execution plans drafted for Glinda's execution, detailing all the security movements. Opening the secret compartment he had concealed under his mattress, Ric took out his coded information about his contacts in the underground, which could help him get the supplies he would need for the plan that was already forming in his head. And finally, he took out his set of plans of the city, the palace and the Gale Force compound. It was time to plan, time to act. He might not kill Jin, but he certainly was not going to lie down and take this. Not anymore. Jin had crossed the wrong man.

Ric Anders was angry.

**Sorry this took so long, but I hope it was worth the wait. Again, a thanks to my lovely betas, LostOzian and Meltalviel. Feedback as always, is appreciated. **

**- Heffy**


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Cien slipped across the street, casting a wary look around the deserted road, before banging on the door he was standing at. A young woman answered the door, her features seeming to mirror Cien's, but they were softer, effeminate. Whereas Cien had a very strong face, as if her were a gale, his sister, in contrast, was a breeze. They complimented each other very well.

"Cien?" she asked, her voice betraying her surprise at the sudden appearance of her brother on her doorstep.

"Sion," he replied, unable to keep a smile from creeping onto his face. It was a smile that was returned just as widely and enthusiastically.

"It's great to see you!" Sion replied, wrapping her brother in an energetic embrace. Finally she pulled away, yanking her brother inside. "They are looking for you, you know. They came looking for me. Shook me up pretty badly."

"Oh," said Cien, scratching the nape of his neck nervously.

She shook her head. "Never could keep your mouth shut, could you?"

"Would you expect anything less?"

Sion shook her head ruefully. "No. But you could have given me some warning that you were going to open your mouth, you know. I'm just a librarian, they would not hesitate to imprison or kill me to draw you out."

"That's the problem. We can't let these things go on! It is wrong, and Jin is the root of it."

"I know Cien, but there are better ways to handle your concerns. Father always warned you that you were too outspoken for your own good."

Don't bring Father into this. Are you telling me that you do not agree with me? You think we should just leave this nut job in power?" asked Cien indignantly, crossing his arms and seeming to dare Sion to disagree. She rolled her eyes at her brother's conviction.

"No, I don't. But I think you should have thought about the consequences first."

Cien noted the look of anxious unrest on his sister's face. "Sion, what happened? Tell me."

"They burned down the house," she said with finality, playing with the hem of her shirt to distract herself from the look of surprise on Cien's face.

Had she looked up, Sion would have seen Cien's face pale. In fact, Cien felt as though he had punched in the stomach. "Mom and Dad?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer. If they had died as a result of his foolish, idiotic, naïve and idealistic actions, he would never forgive himself.

Sion shook her head dejectedly. "I don't know. We can't even be sure who burned down the house, if mom and dad were even home. It might have been the Gale Force. Or just some group of angry people who have decided to dub you the new 'Wicked Witch'."

"I'm pretty sure Glinda holds that title now," said Cien bitterly, before sighing deeply and running a hand through his hair. He locked eyes with his sister, putting all his conviction behind his words. "I'm sorry. I just could not let this happen. I had to try to stop this. It is wrong. I think we all know, or rather, should know that Glinda has not done anything to merit a stay in prison, much less execution. That damn captain helped him get into power. He betrayed Glinda."

"How do you know that?" asked Sion, suddenly interested in how her brother had obtained such interesting information on the very sensitive inner workings of the palace.

"Friends," he replied enigmatically. "Good friends."

"What kind of friends?" asked Sion, her eyebrow raised in cautious curiosity.

"The kind of friends who can help Glinda get out of prison, and away from the hangman's noose. The kind of friends who can help me stay alive and out of prison. The kind of friends who can help us. Those kind of friends," Cien supplied.

"If you say-" Sion was interrupted midsentence by a stiff knock at the door. She opened it and jumped back, letting out a yelp. "It's the Wicked-"

"Hush!" said Cien softly; emerging from where he had hidden behind the counter, on the off chance that whoever had been waiting at the door had been there to pick him up. "These are my friends."

"Such a lovely reception," said Elphaba dryly. "I forgot how much I had missed the screechy, fearful greeting. Pleasure to meet you."

"Elphaba, don't scare the girl," said Fiyero, shaking his head at her as she followed her into the room, shutting the door behind him, before turning his attention to Sion. "Fiyero Tiggular, Miss."

Sion regained her voice. "Pleasure to meet you," she managed, still attempting to get her brain in gear in the aftermath of such a shock. "Aren't you dead?"

Fiyero laughed. "No. A very clever ruse. I'm not dead, and neither is the Wicked Witch."

"Clearly," Elphaba provided.

"Where are Grey and Boq?" Cien asked, noting the absence of the other two men.

"We didn't want to take any more of a risk then we absolutely had to," Elphaba replied. "One of the curses of being a wanted criminal." Sion still looked lost, and she was still attempting to process the turn of events. "Is she alright?" Elphaba asked, looking at Cien for an answer.

"She's just a bit shocked. Right, Sion?" asked Cien, throwing an arm around her sister's shoulders.

"What?" Sion asked, returning from the preoccupation that was her current thoughts. "Oh. Right, yes. Shocked."

"Not shocked enough to go running to the Gale Force, I hope," said Elphaba suspiciously.

In response to the thinly veiled accusal Sion's face darkened and her posture stiffened. "I don't care if you are the Wicked Witch, or an imposter with green face paint and a lot of free time, but no one calls my loyalty into question. Nobody." Sion's eyes were filled with a dangerous challenge.

Elphaba blinked, which was proof enough that she was shocked by the volatile response she had received. It was rare that someone responded to her challenge with such fervor and assurance. It was unnerving and strangely reassuring at the same time.

"I brought you here because I wanted to offer you help," he said, fire dancing in his eyes, "Not so that you could accuse my sister."

"Calm down," Fiyero said, not sure if he was impressed by the loyalty of the Tol siblings or horrified at how close they had come to losing valuable allies. "Now, Cien tells us that you have access to the palace plans and the procedures for something such as, say… an execution for example?"

Sion nodded, the disagreement forgotten. "I do. I work as the head archival librarian of the National Ozian Library, also known as the National Archives."

"There's a National Archives?" asked Fiyero, genuinely surprised. Elphaba rolled her eyes and Cien gave the prince an incredulous look.

Sion laughed. "Yes. We're underfunded and understaffed, but we are here."

"Oh. Huh," said Fiyero, shrugging at the newfound information.

"So you want to gain access to the palace schematics and execution procedures?"

"Yes," Elphaba confirmed.

Sion sighed. "I have access, but those are sensitive documents. They're guarded for most of the day. I normally can't just walk in and get them. At least, not if I want to walk out alive again. Now, thanks to Cien opening his mouth, even my access is limited."

"Then how are you going to get the papers?" asked Cien.

"At night there aren't the same amount of guards. As a result, they don't have enough manpower to guard the individual documents, so they get locked up in a safe, which happens to be in my office. I can walk in; a guard will accompany me to my office and wait outside to make sure I'm not making any mischief. If I'm quiet, I can get the papers out of the safe and into my bag without the guard being any the wiser. They won't know the papers are gone until they check the safe in the morning, but by then, I'll be gone."

"Can you do it?" Cien knew what Elphaba was really asking. Would she do it? Would she be willing to risk her life?

"I'll do it."

* * *

Cien was an idiot. That was the conclusion she had come to. Of course, he was also her brother, so as idiotic as she thought him to be, she still would do anything for him. That was why she was not walking towards the archway at a brisk pace, trying to keep her rapid heart rate under control. She also tried to keep from betraying how nervous she was.

Maybe she had exaggerated a little, just a little tiny bit. This really should not and hopefully would not be all that hard. It was just going to depend on a lot of luck. There were Gale Forcemen posted at every entrance, a new 'precautionary safety measure'. Sion had a feeling that it had as much to do with keeping people out as the documents in. Of course they probably didn't suspect her of trying to filch such sensitive documents. If she was caught, she would be executed.

She crossed the street approaching the north entrance, still fighting to keep her beating heart under control. She was certain that the beating was audible. She approached the door, managing to summon up a smile for the guard. "Hey, Lear. Left my bag in my office," she said, offering her hands up in a gesture of helplessness.

"Oh, hey Miss Tol," Lear replied, returning the smile. "Forgot your bag? That's odd for you," he said, smiling to show that he was just being friendly and didn't suspect anything. Despite this reassurance, her heart was still pounding.

"I know, not sure what I was thinking," said Sion, hoping that she sounded confident and self assured.

"Well," said Lear, "Let's go. You know I have to walk you to your office. Make sure you aren't up to any mischief," he said with a wink that was supposed to be a joke but really made my heart leap in fear.

"I would never do something like that," she said with a nervous laugh. Sion kept herself under control, leading Lear through the doors of the Archives and into the maze of bookcases that made up the place. She stopped at the door to her office, unlocking it and offering a small smile to Lear before slipping inside and gulping air into her lungs. She hadn't realized until the door was closed that she had been holding her breath.

Sion grabbed her bag off the hook by the door and moved over to the safe. She had to move quick, otherwise Lear might get suspicious. She quickly opened the safe and began sifting through the documents, frantically searching for the plans and the execution procedures. Unfortunately, she didn't account for the fact that the safe had been booby trapped.

Whoops.

Lear crashed into the office, his rifle lowered at Sion. "Get up," he said coldly, the friendly way he had talked just moments before forgotten. "Get against the wall," he ordered. She complied, and stood by the wall as Lear put the papers back in the safe. That finished, he walked over and cuffed her hands, shaking his head. "You know Sion, I liked you. I never thought you'd be one to do this." He tucked the documents she had tried to steal in his pocket and led a very anxious and cuffed Sion to the palace.

What was going to happen? She had heard from members of the Gale Force who guarded the Archives, men like Lear, that Jin was not the most amiable guy around. They followed the man, however clueless they were as to how he had gotten into power in the first place. Apparently Jin said (corroborated by the current captain, Ric) that Glinda had killed a guard in cold blood, which was an accusation that Sion believed to be a load of crock, but how had Jin of all people had been allowed to seize power was mystery to her. There was one answer to this question, and that answer smelled like a rat, and that rat smelled like Ric Anders.

She had been so engrossed in her thoughts that Sion hadn't realized how much of the palace they had been through until she was in the large throne room, which look even bigger because it was so empty.

"Wait here," Lear said an order which she didn't respond to. With that, Lear exited the room. Sion considered trying to find a way out or making a run for it. At least her capture would be a contest then. Of course, if she did that, then there was no chance of her brother and his friends being able to save her. At least this way she had a chance of escaping. A small chance, but a chance none the less. No, escaping, or rather attempting to escape would be a bad idea. Of course, there was also the fact that there were guards posted at every entrance to the throne room. That was a big deterrent.

Under any other circumstances Sion would have loved to spend some time examining the room, taking in the craftsmanship of the gilded ceiling, the tapestries that were no doubt woven by hand many years ago, admiring the artwork that hung on the beautiful paneled walls. However, under these circumstances, she was instead contemplating her own fate and how painful her execution would be. Would it be long and drawn out, or would it all end quickly? The choices weren't particularly enticing. She'd be much better off at the Archives alive and safe then here waiting for what she felt was inevitable.

Speaking of inevitability, the doors swung open and in walked in, flanked by the good Captain and a man she did not recognize. "Miss Tol, what a pleasure," Jin said smoothly. "I hear you were very interested in my documents."

"Those documents belong to the archives, the archives in which I am a librarian. I should not be punished for wanting to study," said Sion, adrenaline overriding the fear and anxiety roiling inside of her.

Jin didn't look amused or interested in her answer. In fact, he seemed to be giving off waves of anger. "Don't lie to me. You had schematics of the palace and a draft of the execution plans ready to be put in your bag, no doubt to be taken to your brother." Sion had no answer for that, and only thought that speaking would make things worse. Jin lined up nose to nose with her. "Where is your brother?" he asked, his voice and face filled with danger.

"I don't know," Sion said, hoping she sounded convincing. There was no way she would consciously betray her brother, and telling Jin where to find him would definitely be considered a betrayal.

Jin slapped her, her face stinging from the pain. She could feel a trickle of blood running from her mouth. "Don't lie to me," he hissed. "You didn't do this yourself. Now where is your brother, where is Cien?" By then end of his little speech, Jin was practically yelling.

"I don't know," she repeated, her voice shaking.

This time, he punched her in the stomach rather than slapping her. She doubled over, suppressing the yelp of pain that rose in her throat.

"Jin…" said Ric carefully, willing the younger man to retain some semblance of self control.

"Worry about yourself, Anders," Jin said, prefacing the impact of his fist on Sion's jaw.

Sion stumbled backwards, barely managing to keep her balance. "I'll tell you," said Sion, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the floor. "He's waiting at the Blue Crow Tavern. He wanted me to bring him the plans."

"He didn't have anyone with him?"

"No, he was alone. If he was allied with anyone he didn't mention it," said Sion, willing herself to lie convincingly.

"Thank you," said Jin, before punching her in the eye and kicking her in the stomach as she hit the ground. "That's for making me wait." Ric looked annoyed with Jin, a fact that she took solace in. "Since you're so interested in executions, you'll get a special treat, experiencing one yourself. See you on Friday." Jin stiffly nodded at Ric before turning and leaving, the man she didn't recognize still a mystery as he trailed off behind him.

"I detest that man," Ric muttered, helping Sion to her feet and handing her a handkerchief which she spat more blood into. "Come on," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder to steady her as she faltered, her balance a little off from the sudden onset of pain.

"Don't touch me," Sion hissed, her voice like steel as she ignored the pain in her mouth.

Ric's face darkened. "Fine. Zeck, take her to cell 4B. She'll stay there until her execution."

Zeck looked confused. "But sir, 4B is-"

"4B." said Ric firmly, his voice leaving no room for argument.

"If you say so, sir," Zeck replied, leading Sion away. He led her down several flights of stairs, the descending stairs mirroring her general feeling. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, her mouth was again filled with blood, and she could feel her eye throbbing, not to mention the pain in her stomach. "Here," he said, unlocking the cell door and her handcuffs before pushing her in before shutting the door and disorienting her further, sending the already off balance woman crashing to the floor. She heard the lock sliding into place with finality.

"Jerk," she said, mentally cataloguing her injuries, which, while painful where not all that serious. She would kill Cien when she got out of this. That was, if she got out of this. All those thoughts were pushed aside as she realized that someone or something was moving in the depths of the cell. "Who's there?" she called, raising her fists into a fighting position.

Into a shaft of light walked a very bruised and battered Glinda the Good. "Me."

* * *

Cien, in the great tradition of anxiously waiting, was pacing the small kitchen of his sister's house. "Where is she?" he asked Elphaba and Fiyero, who were watching him pace with differing mixtures of amusement and trepidation. "Sion is on time for everything!"

"Cien-" Fiyero began, but he was cut off.

"No, don't tell me not to worry. Every time I'm told not to worry, something bad happens." "Like what?" asked Elphaba warily, her eyebrows raised in interest.

"Well… I don't know," said Cien, "But something bad will happen, you watch."

"You've been spending too much time with Elphaba," Fiyero commented. "Her pessimism and paranoia is rubbing off on you."

"What's wrong with pessimism?" asked Elphaba, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Oh, nothing," said Fiyero innocently and nonchalantly. At least, what he thought was nonchalantly.

"Well, we can't all dance through life and not worry about a thing in the world."

"I was young and stupid then."

"So what's changed?"

"I'm older."

"Thanks for clarifying."

Cien's head snapped to the window. "Hush," he urged, dropping his voice and creeping over to the window. He peeked out and cursed at what he saw, dropping to the floor. "Put out the candle, hurry!" he said, his voice filled with desperation and the urgency carried despite the hushed tones. Elphaba immediately obeyed, plunging the room into a creeping semidarkness which didn't seem to serve any purpose. As soon as that was done, yells and pounding where heard from outside on the street. "Follow me," Cien urged, launching himself up the stairs, Elphaba and Fiyero on his heels, the sound of the door being blasted to pieces only a floor below them. "Hurry!" he called, flinging opens the door atop the second flight of stairs. The roof. "Don't argue." He said, before running to the edge of the roof and launching himself off. He landed on the second roof, and after only a second or two of hesitation, Elphaba and Fiyero followed.

The three fugitives leaped across the rooftops, putting as much distance between themselves and the Gale Force as possible. As soon as they were a few street lengths away, Cien finally slowed and looked back. His sister's house was in flames, and the soot was being blown by the wind, causing his eyes to sting. "I shouldn't have let her go. I should never have brought her into this," said Cien, his stomach churning at the thought of what might have happened to his sister. They were not pleasant suppositions.

"Cien," began Fiyero, resting a hand on the younger man's shoulder, "She made a choice, she didn't have to go, she wasn't forced. She made a choice, and nothing you do can change that."

"I asked her to go. I'm supposed to protect her, not sign her death warrant," said Cien insistently, turning away from the blaze. IT wasn't the soot that was causing the singular tear running down his face.

"We'll get her back," said Elphaba who was still turned towards the fire, her cloak rippling in the wind dramatically. "We'll save Sion, we'll save Glinda. I know we will."

Cien nodded unconvincingly, starting down the ladder that was leaning against the side of the building. Before Elphaba could follow him down, Fiyero grabbed her wrist. "What do you have up your sleeve?" he asked, studying Elphaba's face. "Why are you so sure all of the sudden?"

Elphaba sighed, avoiding his searching eyes. "I'm not. I needed those schematics. I don't know the layout of the palace all that well, and I needed the plans that were drafted for the execution. This is too complicated an operation to attempt without them."

"Well, then what are we going to do?"

"Pray?" Elphaba suggested sarcastically, crossing her arms. Fiyero casted an indignant look at her. "Well, we can't try to get the plans again. With this disaster one of two things happened. Either she betrayed us, which isn't likely, because she knew it would have put Cien in danger and I don't think she would be willing to risk that, she loves him too much. Sibling bond and all that. Option two, some way or another she got caught. I'm betting on that. If Jin was wise, he would offer her up as a target for rescue before Glinda's execution. That would force us to show ourselves. Fortunately, Jin will want to gloat too much. He'll execute before or after Glinda at the same ceremony."

"How do you know he'll execute her?"

"Two reasons. One, she's Cien's sister and Jin wants to punish Cien for being brave enough to speak against him. Two, she tried to steal Jin's oh so precious plans. I doubt that little fact went over well."

"So what are we going to do?" asked Fiyero, scratching his head.

"Wait, plan, and pray nothing happens."

"So we're going forward without a plan, as usual," said Fiyero, rubbing his temples with his fingertips.

"Yes, we are. Isn't it great? Didn't you miss it?" asked Elphaba sarcastically.

"Yes, because it ended so well last time," Fiyero pointed out, raising his eyebrow at Elphaba.

"It wasn't all bad. We did win, eventually and at a high cost, but we still won."

"You're really bad at this whole optimism thing, you know that?"

* * *

**Sorry this took so long. I've had it written for a long time, I've just been too lazy to type it. I hope you like what you have. Thanks for reading, and reviews are always appreciated. As always, a thanks to my betas LostOzian and Meltalviel. **

**- Heffy**


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

It had been a long time since someone had called her Lady Glinda. She had nearly forgotten she had ever had the title in the first place, not that she particularly cared for it. Titles had appealed to her when she was younger, had been the focal point of her ambition, but now they seemed rather pointless.

"Just Glinda," she said to the girl, who looked, well, like a mess. From what she could see, Jin had been having 'fun' again.

"I'm Sion Tol Mi-" she stumbled, censoring herself. "Glinda."

"Tol? Wasn't it your brother who-"

"Opened his mouth and got both of us into a load of trouble?" she asked with a bemused tone, before answering her own question. "Yep, that's him."

Glinda laughed. "Well, I appreciate him opening his mouth. It's good to know that Jin isn't being followed brainlessly. There may be some hope yet."

"Hope for what? We're going to die," Sion said flatly. She had quickly become a pessimist in the light of this situation. As she spoke, she began trying to rub the worst of the dried blood off her face and ignore the throbbing in her head.

"No we aren't," answered Glinda automatically.

"Oh?" commented Sion, her eyebrow raised. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know my friends," she answered with a shrug. "And they will stop Jin," she said with a conclusive tone while quashing her own self doubt about the truth of that statement. After all, she had thought she knew Ric, and she had clearly misjudged him. However, she knew Elphaba better, or at least she hoped she did. Her friends would not abandon her.

After all, if there was one woman she knew, it was Elphaba. The woman was entirely too protective and Glinda was certain that she would come or had already come up with a plan. She was Elphaba Thropp. She always had a plan. She had to believe that, it gave her something to hold onto to, a reason to hope. A reason she desperately needed considering their current situation.

"I hope you're right about your friends," the other woman said skeptically.

Glinda replied confidently, "I am." She had long ago mastered the art of sounding completely confident even when she was not. It was one of the first things her mother had taught her. A necessary skill for surviving society, she had said. She had been completely correct, as always. She was confident, though. Did she know that Elphaba would do something foolishly brave and probably get herself killed in the process? Yes, she had no doubt that it was highly probable that that was exactly what would happen. The probably was that she did not know if she could realistically pull off whatever plan it was she came up with. Would she hope? Yes. Would she pray? Yes. Was she certain that this was going to work? Absolutely not.

"Well, when we get out of 'this'," said Sion, limiting how bitter she sounded, "Cien is going to owe me big time. He got me into this, he had better get me out."

"If you don't mind me asking, what did you do to get in here in the first place? The guards aren't exactly forthcoming."

"I stupidly listened to my older brother," she explained with a snort. "Damn idealists. They get everyone else in trouble."

Glinda laughed in response. "Can I be frank?" Sion shrugged noncommittally in response. "If you didn't believe in what he said, or didn't agree with what he believes, you wouldn't have gotten involved, and you wouldn't be here. Yet, here we are." She laughed again, not a happy laugh, though, a bitter one. "After all, I should know. I'm the same way. Here I am. It's worth it though, to fight for your friends. I made the mistake of not standing with one once." The smile that seemed permanently fixed to her face no matter what, cracked for only a moment. "I regret it every day of my life."

"More friends?" Sion asked.

"No, the same friends."

You put a lot of faith in your friends, lapses in judgment aside."

"They've never given me a reason to doubt them. I'm the only one with doubt."

Sion's response never made it out of her throat. She was cut off by the cell door opening, an even that garnered a good deal of attention, as it usually ended unpleasantly.

Ric stood silhouetted in the door. "Glinda."

She didn't turn to look at him. "Yes?" she said sharply.

"Come on," he said, holding out a pair of cups. She turned on her heel, silently holding out her wrists. He took a few steps forward, locking the cuffs around her wrists. He led her out of the room, securing the door behind him, thrusting Sion, once more, into darkness.

"I'm really sorry about this," Ric said apologetically, the door secured behind him.

"You say that every time, yet I still don't believe you, and every blow I feel secures that reasoning even more," said Glinda with a measured tone, refusing to meet his eyes. Ric may only have been four years younger than her, but at times like this, the age difference felt like decades.

Ric finally replied after a long silent moment. "Regardless, it's true."

Glinda's façade cracked, anger only a flash on a face, looking alien on her usually calm face. "Then prove it, Ric. Prove it," she said acerbically, looking at Ric acidly.

"You know I can't," he replied just as acidly.

She finally looked as furious as she felt. Ric was not sure which one he found more terrifying. Glinda being angry and seeming perfectly pleasant like a tiger waiting to strike, or Glinda being angry enough to lose her control. Five foot tall or not, the woman was terrifying. "Therein lies the problem," she said, barely keeping her tone measured and from rising too loudly.

"Glinda, you don't understand," Ric said just as furiously, feeling his own fabulous control slipping away.

Glinda laughed shortly, making Ric feel like a fool as she did it. "Ric, don't waste my time with that garbage. It's crap, an excuse, and we both know it."

"Glinda, you don't understand," he repeated, getting angrier.

"Ric, what is there to understand? You made a choice, the wrong choice, but a choice nonetheless. So do not sit here and try to duck out of it by hiding behind excuses," said Glinda, her blue eyes icy, daring Ric to disagree lest he face her wrath.

Ric's eyes flared with danger. "Fine. You want to leave?" he unlocked the cuffs. "Go. Good luck," he said, his tone suggesting that he wished her anything but luck.

She locked her jaw. "I won't leave without Sion. Jin would just take this out on her, and I, unlike some people, don't just screw other people over."

Ric took a sharp breath. His voice was on the edge of fury, of yelling at Glinda. "If you go back for her, you won't make it out of here. Hell, if you don't go back for her, you won't make it. You are stuck here. At least this way, I have some control over the situation."

Glinda was furious now, and though her voice never rose above what would normally be considered a loud whisper, none of the fury was hidden. "You call this controlling the situation?" she asked, thrusting her arms, bruised and cut, at Ric. "You call the fact that I have lumps on my head, concussions, bruises and cuts everywhere being in control of the situation? You call Jin beating me every chance he gets controlling the situation? Well, you sure have an interesting definition of control then, Ric."

"You think it's easy for me?" he asked, grabbing her wrist, not roughly, but firmly. "You think I find it particularly pleasant to watch them beat the crap out of the person I swore to protect? Because if you think that, then you don't nearly give me enough credit."

She twisted out his grip. "I don't give you enough credit? You betrayed all of us, Ric. All of us, and you expect me to give you some twisted benefit of the doubt?"

"Haven't you learned anything? Look, you need to trust me." No response, only fury. He silently clipped the cuffs back on her wrists. "Come on."

He began leading her away. "Don't let me down."

She said it so quietly that Ric was not even sure he had heard it. Regardless, he replied. "I won't." It was not until later, when he was pacing in his quarters, that he worried that that statement might not be true.

* * *

Elphaba paced. She had been doing so all night, waiting and worrying about what the dawn would bring. This time tomorrow, she would either be victorious or dead. She had gone over the plan hundreds of times in her head, waiting for some problem or some hole in the plan to make itself known. So far, there was nothing, but that did not ease her mind in the least. After all, the requirements of this plan were not simple at all, they were complicated and difficult. She went over the spell once more in her head. She had regained enough of her power to be able to cast this one spell. This one simple spell, then after this, she would be completely vulnerable. She had not realized how desperate she had been on the sense of security her magic gave her.

So she paced apprehensively, her body begging her for sleep. Fiyero had gone to bed long ago, knowing that there was nothing he could do to stave off her anxiety. She knew she should rest, prepare for the messes tomorrow would no doubt bring. For all she knew, she could be alone tomorrow, all she loved gone. She could be gone tomorrow. She shuddered. She could not consider that thought. If she had considered such ramifications every time these sort of situations came up, it would have driven her insane long ago. Of course, she was not going to let such worries stop her. She could not afford to let those eat her from the inside out.

She would lose a little sleep, be a little anxious. It had never hurt the success of the plan before. The fact that this behavior and that these types of plans had become routine was a terrifying thought. For the thousandth time, she ran through the plan in her mind. She glanced at the clock. Two hours until everyone else would be up, and they had to make their way to their stations. It should not be that hard. She was banking on the dies that most of the Gale Force would be preoccupied. She was hoping.

No, no, pessimism was preferable. This would be awesome if everyone did not die. That was the only way that this was going to be a positive. If at least one person she loved did not die.

Too much of this plan relied on luck, a fact she despise, but at the same time it was a fact she could not change.

"Elphaba? The woman was torn out of her pacing attempt at rationalizing her worries by Boq.

"Yes?" she asked, taking in the shorter man, who looked as though he had yet to sleep either, a fact which was understandable. After all, Glinda was his best friend, but Boq was her fiancé. He loved her more than anything, a fact which had been made obvious many times.

"Can't sleep?" he asked, pouring himself a cup of the tea that Elphaba had made and then promptly forgot about.

"No," she replied, resuming her pacing, Boq's eyes tracking her. "I'm just anxious," she offered, not pausing her pacing or glancing at Boq as she walked.

"Me neither," he replied. "I keep thinking of things that could go wrong," he said, shaking his head. "So much could," he paused for several long moments. "She could die, I could die, we could be hurt… the possibilities are endless, which is not particularly comforting in this situation."

"It's a risk we have to take. It comes with the job."

"Job?" Boq asked incredulously. "You've made a profession out of this?"

"Of course it's a job. What do you think I do all day? Knit? Besides, didn't you hear? My hobby is getting into dangerous situations and making stupid decisions and crazy plans."

"Oh, so that's what you do when you're not making useful sarcastic commentary."

"Well, I have to be good for something."

"Poor you. You need more self esteem."

"Well, you know me, always so dark and depressing."

Actually-"

"Watch it, munchkin." Boq glared at her. "Well, you are."

"I am not that short."

Elphaba smirked. If Boq wanted to press her buttons, she could press his. "Whatever you say, Boq."

He grumbled something incoherent, taking a small sip of the tea. Several surprisingly comfortable moments of silence passed. It was Boq who finally broke the silence. "What if we can't save her?" he asked, swirling the mug of tea idly. "What if we fail? What if we don't get there quick enough?" he asked, his voice and posture slumping as though they had already lost the battle.

"Speaking with experience, you can't dwell on what could happen, if you do, you'll drive yourself crazy," she advised.

Boq gave her an anxious half smile. "I'm already halfway there."

"Be that as it may, driving yourself even further into insanity won't help anything."

He sighed. "I guess you're right."

"I'm always right," she replied dryly.

Boq snorted. "If you say so."

"I am."

Boq paused again, starting into the depths of his cup as though it would suddenly reveal some long awaited answer. Finally he seemed to find what it was he was looking for. "You know, I don't even know what drew me too her at Shiz. It was almost a case of only seeing what I wanted to see. She was a pretty girl, on of the 'Upper Uplands'. I was just a boy from Munchkinland. I wasn't even in her league. She had the best clothes, the best advantages, the best supplies and what did I have? Secondhand uniforms that didn't fit, a poor family that was sending me to a school they couldn't afford and pencils that I sharpened to the eraser, writing notes on every scrap of paper I could find." He snorted at his self examination. "The ironic thing? I think if I hadn't paid her an attention, she actually would have noticed me more. The more attention I paid her, the less important I was in her eyes. The more I observed, the less she noticed me. After all, there were dozens of boys equally obsessed. I was a special case in the fact that I was around more. Because of your sister, actually." Elphaba stiffened at the mention of Nessa as she always did, no matter how fleeting the reference. "I think I actually loved her for a while. But she changed. We changed. I lost any feeling I had for her. I'm actually surprised I lasted as long as I did." Elphaba was watching Boq carefully, evaluating everything he said. "But I didn't last, a fact that I'm sorry to say destroyed your sister. She couldn't accept that someone didn't love her. It's ironic, I suppose. One sister unable to accept a lack of affection from one man, and sacrificing the rights and justice of an entire people for it. One sister sacrificing the adoration of an entire people for the rights and justices of others." He got no response from Elphaba. She simply watched him, waiting for him to continue with his little speech. "But I never figured that I would have a chance again. Not after what Nessa did, for it was Nessa that truly turned me into that man of steel. I've finally realized that. And then, I finally get my second chance form the most unexpected source of all, Morrible. Who would have guessed, right? I finally got who I thought was my love." Elphaba's eyebrow shot up. Thought? He could not be talking about Glinda. He was getting married to Glinda. He could not honestly be getting married on a 'thought'. "But I never saw what was right in front of my face. Elphaba Thropp, I love you."

"What?" Elphaba nearly toppled over backwards as she jumped back, so shocked by his declaration.

Boq, on the other hand, was gasping for breath from laughing so hard. "You should have seen the look on your face."

Elphaba's face turned a deeper shade of emerald. "Boq!"

He smirked, still chuckling. "Oh, I had you. You believed me." Elphaba glared at him, though despite herself, a small smile tugged at the corner of her moth.

"Proud of yourself, are you?" she asked grumpily.

"Quite," he said, taking a sip of his tea and nearly choking.

"I'm sure you are," said Elphaba, taking a sip of her own tea. A few more minutes passed. Surprisingly, Boq's little joke had somehow managed to dissipate some of the tension that had filled the air.

"We had fun at Shiz, didn't we?" Boq finally asked, glancing at Elphaba who had let herself smile, if only a bit.

"We did. For a while there, we really did," she said with a smile, her smile only faltering a bit when she realized the events that had brought her the first moments of happiness crashing to a halt.

"I wish I could go back," said Boq wistfully.

"No you don't," said Elphaba firmly. "Because those days were good, but these are better. Because you have her now, because you have her, and you love her and she loves you."

"Well, it helps that you have him. That leaves her open," commented Boq with a smirk. "So thank you, Elphaba, for stealing Glinda's fiancé, and really, really pissing her off. After that, I must have looked great. Anyone would have looked great."

"Don't be self-deprecating. It's annoying," she sighed. "Besides, I think you two would have found a way to each other even if I hadn't, as you so delicately put it, stolen Fiyero. You would have found each other."

"How interesting," said Boq, his smirk growing even more.

"Hmm?"

"You may not look or act the part, but you are a romantic at heart," said Boq firmly, amusement still tugging at his tone and a firm smile.

Elphaba's cheeks darkened even further. "I am not."

"Yes you are," commented Fiyero sleepily from the doorway.

"I'm getting some sleep. Perhaps you should as well. It would do you some good, get your head on straight. After all, you're being delusional." With that parting shot, she breezed past Fiyero, who blinked, shrugged, and with a wave, left Boq in the kitchen.

He sighed. "Glinda was right," he grumbled. "Now I have to take her shopping," he groaned, doused the candles, and went to bed.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow was an end and a beginning. What would be ending or beginning had yet to be seen.

* * *

**Ask, and ye shall receive. I flew solo on this one, so I apologize for any... crap in this chapter. I really have missed working on this story, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed rediscovering it. **

**Review, por favor.**

**- Heffy**


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